Getting Past it All
by PeetasGirl8
Summary: Slightly A/U: Gale is still here, along with Mrs. Everdeen, and Peeta's family is still alive, but that doesn't mean that there aren't problems. Take a look at these problems and see how, as a couple, Peeta and Katniss help each other get past all of their problems. Please read!
1. Chapter 1: Family Reunion

Getting Past it All

**Chapter 1—Katniss POV**

**~A/N~ This is my first ever story, so reading and reviewing would be very much appreciated. I need to know how I'm doing for my first story, and don't worry, more romance is coming ;). This is just more of an introductory story. Thanks and remember, constructive criticism and compliments would be great!**

I wake up and look at the clock. Two in the morning. I start crying out Prim's name as I relive my nightmare. The person next to me stirs as he wakes up from the sounds of my sobs and screams. Peeta, the boy I love.

He holds his arms tight around me as he tries to calm me down. "It's okay, sweetheart, you're okay now," he whispers, his hot breath on my ear.

"Oh, Peeta, it was horrible!" I say through the tears. It's only been a couple of months since Gale's weapon killed my little sister, Prim. Peeta knows how hard it has been for me to accept that she is gone, especially since I relive it every night in my dreams.

"It's okay, it's all over now. Just forget about it and get some more sleep." We pull apart from our hug. He's staring into my eyes, and I'm staring back into his. He leans in for a kiss, and I quickly close the distance so our lips softly meet. His soft lips have a sweet taste to them. As we pull away from the kiss, I can still feel it lingering on my lips, leaving me wanting more. However, I don't get what I want. "Good night, Katniss, and no more nightmares," he says, a smile playing on his lips. As if I could help getting nightmares.

"Good night, Peeta. And I'll try," I reply, arguing with my thoughts. I return the smile he gives me. I then lay down, curling up and facing him. I lay down with my head on his chest as he wraps his arms around me. "Peeta?" I ask, looking up at him.

"Yes, my little flower?"

"I love you."

"I love you too. Now get some sleep," he says, closing his eyes. I slowly drift off to sleep again, using his warm body as a pillow.

Peeta awakens me the next morning. "Sweet dreams?" he asks.

"Yes, and it's all because of you!" I answer happily. He pecks me on the cheek.

"Are you ready for our day ahead?"

Ugh. How could I forget? We're spending the day catching up with my mom. When I was a child, after my dad died in the mine explosion, she sort of tuned out. She started sleeping all day, leaving me to care for myself and Prim. Now that Prim is gone, I assume she's the same all over again, maybe even worse. I love Mom, but I've been dreading today. I look at Peeta and smile. He returns a reassuring smile, and it makes me feel better. _Okay, I can do this. I have him,_ I think. And it calms me down enough to get ready for the day.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

I hear the knocking at the door just as I am starting to braid my hair. I look at Peeta, who is standing right next to me in the mirror, and he understands I want him to answer the door. He runs down the stairs two at a time before the knocking starts again. I hear him greet my mom with a politeness that almost reminds me of Effie. Almost. I'm surprised to hear that my mom sounds genuinely happy, which gives me a confidence boost. I head down the stairs after I finish the braid I was working on and greet my mom with the biggest smile I can without making it look fake. I can tell by the smirk on Peeta's face that my smile looks either painful or fake, one of the two. However, her smile is very genuine. She must be doing better than I thought.

"Hi, Mom!" I say happily. I can't keep myself from running up to her and hugging her tightly. I look at Peeta over her shoulder and see that he's smiling at me. His smile is very painful looking and I know he's imitating me. I scowl and glare at him but change my face back to happy as we pull from the hug.

"Hi, Katniss! I've missed you!"

"Yeah, me too."

"Hey, I'm sorry I didn't come visit you sooner."

"No, don't be sorry. It's okay. Did you eat any breakfast?"

"No, but don't worry about it. I'm really not that hungry."

"Nonsense, Mrs. Everdeen," says Peeta with his excessive politeness again. "What would you like?" I already know what I want.

"Umm, how about some cheese buns?" my mom echoes my thoughts exactly. She smiles at me, knowing it's my favorite food from the bakery.

"Sure thing. Whatever you want, Mrs. Everdeen," says Peeta, and he rushes into the kitchen, leaving me and my mom alone.

"How have you been Katniss?" she asks. She doesn't say anything about Prim, but I know this is what she is talking about.

"There are still nightmares, almost every night," I answer. "If it weren't for Peeta, I'd have gone crazy by now. You?"

"No nightmares. I just can't stop thinking about her. Thank God my work distracts me from thinking too much. In a way, working at the new clinic is my Peeta," she says with a wink. "I'm even friends with some of the patients." I'm proud of her, and I think she can tell from the way I'm beaming at her. She's come a long way from moping around and leaving her children to fend for themselves. My thoughts are interrupted by a loud "_DING!_"

Shortly after the timer goes off, Peeta loudly announces that the buns are done. We join him in the kitchen and quickly devour the six delicious rolls. When we finish, Peeta beckons me with his finger. When I approach him, he says, "Closer, Katniss. I need to whisper something to you." I lean down to his level so my ear was next to his mouth. "Why don't you go get something for your mother?" he whispers as he slips me a rather large amount of money. I flash him an appreciative grin and reach up to kiss his cheek. Then I hug my mom and promise to be back soon.

**~A/N~ So, how was it? I hope it wasn't too bad! If you review, you get a free cheese bun baked by Peeta himself! If not, Peeta will go through a flashback and strangle you through the computer! So please, please, please review! Thanks for giving me a shot!**


	2. Chapter 2: Unwanted Kisses

Getting Past it All

Chapter 2

**~A/N~ Thanks ****Lucille Adams**** for the comment! Just thought I should show my appreciation to you since you're first one who reviewed! Later in the story, I'll PM you and you can choose something for the plot, okay? Well here's chapter 2! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: There is no way my mind is even close to good enough to own The Hunger Games. It is the product of the great imagination of Suzanne Collins.**

**Peeta POV**

Katniss smiles at me again before she runs out the door. Good, it worked. I need to talk to Mrs. Everdeen alone.

"Uh, Mrs. Everdeen? Can I talk to you?" I ask.

"Yeah, sure. What is it?"

"Well, I wanted to, uh…" I trail off, not knowing how to word what I need to ask of her.

"What is it? Spit it out!" Katniss' mom says, getting annoyed.

"Can I marry Katniss?" I ask in a rushed frenzy.

"Um, what?" Mrs. Everdeen looks confused. She must not have heard what I said, so I try to slow down.

"Do I have your permission to marry your daughter?" I say more slowly.

"Really?" she asks in disbelief. The shock is obvious on her face. Then, a smile spreads across it. "Of course! Of course you can!"

The relief spreads quickly through my body as she says this. _I can marry Katniss, the love of my life, _I think. "Can you do me another favor, too?"

"What?"

"This whole conversation needs to stay a secret, okay?"

"Wouldn't even think of saying a word," she agrees.

"No hints, either."

"Not at all," she says with a smile.

"Okay, good," I reply. "I couldn't thank you enough for your blessing."

"Just make my baby happy, and you better treat her right. If I hear anything bad-" she threatens.

I cut her off. "I wouldn't even dream of it."

"Then you're very welcome."

**Katniss POV**

As I rush out of the house and head into town, I think of what I'm going to buy. Peeta handed me a lot of money, so I'm thinking of getting a little something for him, too.

I start at the bakery. I enter the store and tell Peeta's older brother Rye that I want a sugar cookie. This is for my mom, of course. Peeta could bake one to perfection whenever he wants. Rye bags the cookie as Sesame, Peeta's younger brother, starts tugging on his arm.

"What do you want?" Rye asks Sesame. I can hear the exasperation in his voice.

"The bread is going to burn if you don't watch it! Let me take care of Katniss!" Rye rolls his eyes at Sesame and walks to the oven in the back.

"All I had is a cookie." I handed him exact change when Sesame leans over to whisper something to me.

"You know, Rye is totally jealous of Peeta. Especially when he talks about you."

"Peeta talks about me?"

"Yeah, all the time! He says you're pretty and sweet and funny and how lucky he is to have you and he wants to spend all life with you and-" I need to cut him off before I blush a tomato red.

"Okay, okay. I get it," I say with a smile. "Why does Rye get jealous though?"

"I guess he's not as 'smooth' as I hear Peeta is, is he?" I'm so embarrassed, I can't even say anything, so I just blush. "I'll take that as a yes!" Sesame says. He starts laughing and I soon join him. I turn around and head out the door after I thank Rye and Sesame for the cookie. I start walking towards the flower shop. It's not that far away, but a good ten minute walk. Then, I hear someone calling out to me.

"Hey! Catnip!" My heart sinks as I turn around and see Gale running towards me. We used to be best friends, but we stopped hanging out after I chose Peeta over him. I'll admit, I'm not very excited to see him.

"Oh, uh, hey Gale," I say when he approaches me.

"Hey, you don't seem very happy to see me," he replies. His grin is turning into a frown slowly but surely.

"Well, it's just…uhh-" he interrupts my stammering with a kiss on the lips. I pull away immediately. I know he's hurt by the look in his eyes, but he knows I'm off limits!

"Catnip! I'm sor-" he starts.

"No! you don't call me Catnip anymore. My name is Katniss! And you know I'm with Peeta! You need to accept as something that's not going to change."

"I know, and I'm sorry. But you need to know a couple of things."

"What?" I ask exasperated and defeated.

"Number 1, I love you and don't ever forget it."

"Gale, I know it hurts, but you saying that isn't going to change anything."

I see a flash of pain go through his eyes before he speaks again. "Will you listen to what else I have to say?"

"Fine. What else?"

"Well, I'm not sure how to say this-"

"Just spit it out! I'm sick of the games!"

"I don't think you're safe around Peeta. I think he's still being affected by the venom," Gale quickly says in one breath. This I already know. He returns to the Capitol every so often for treatment.

"Gale, do you think I don't know this already? I'm sorry, but I love him, and you can't ever change that," I say, annoyed. I turn to leave. However, as I turn away , Gale grabs my shoulders and turns me around. "Gale! Let go of me right now!" I shout.

"I just wanted a good bye kiss." He has a look in his eyes. They look controlling.

"No! Just get the hell off of me!" I say as I slap him across the face and manage to break free. I run all the way to the flower shop, never once looking back to see if he was following me.

I stood outside the flower shop until I recovered from what just happened. When I entered, the worker at the register greeted me and asked what I wanted.

"Can I have some primroses, please?" I ask.

"Of course. Just wait here for a moment," the clerk says as she steps out from behind the counter. She walks out the back door and returns shortly after I hear the sound of clipping as she cuts some flowers off of the primrose bush. She rings them up and I give her the money. I thanked the clerk as I leave the store. Now, I decide, I need to go visit Greasy Sae.

I walk down the street towards the Hob, where I would find Greasy Sae. When I get there, I am greeted with a smile and a hug from her granddaughter, Willow. "What can I get you?" Greasy Sae asks.

"Well, I know you don't normally make lamb stew, but…" I trail off.

"What's the occasion?"

"Peeta gave me some money to get my mom some gifts, so it only makes sense to get him something too."

"Of course I'll make it! It'll just be a little wait." As I wait for the stew, I talk to Greasy Sae about the new additions to town, like the flower shop and the clinic. Before I know it, I'm walking home with a bagged cookie, a bundle of primroses, and a huge tub of lamb stew. I walk into the house at about noon, so I'm not surprised that I smell even more cheese buns. I first find my mom, who is on my couch in the living room.

"Here, these are from me and Peeta," I say handing her the gifts.

"Thank you so much! She says with a huge smile. Her eyes then locate the white tub. "What's that?" she asks.

I hold my finger up to my lips and say, "Shhh, it's a secret." She nods to tell me she understands.

I quietly walk into the kitchen with the stew behind my back. Peeta looks up from the dough on the island and gives me a sly grin as he notices I'm hiding something from him."

"Whatcha got there?" he asks.

"I don't know what you mean, Peeta," I say innocently.

He starts slowly walking toward me. "I think you do know what I mean, Katniss," he says with a smile. When he reaches me, he puts his forehead against mine.

"Why would I hide anything from you?"

"I don't know, why are you?"

"I'm not hiding anything," I say with a giggle.

"I love that sound, you know," he says with a smile. He pulls his head away from mine and kisses my forehead. He then kisses my lips gently, but pulls away way too soon. He knows what he is doing is leaving me breathless and with a fast heartbeat.

"What sound?" I ask, my voice light and airy.

"The sound of your laugh. It's almost as beautiful as the sound of you singing." He then reaches behind me and grabs the container of stew. Wow. I can't believe I let his words distract me again! This happens all the time.

"Fine. You win. Happy?" He takes the lid off the container so he can see what's inside. He places it on the counter and not two seconds later, I'm getting hugged tightly and lifted on my feet. "Jeez, it's just some lamb stew! It's not really _that_ big of a deal, is it?" I say, laughing, when he puts me back down on solid ground. We are locked embracing this way for what feels like forever. I know I need to tell him about Gale, but not now, when he's so happy.

**~A/N~ Sorry I haven't updated in a while! However, only two people reviewed! You know, more reviews motivate an author to update more quickly! I don't even care if it's completely nasty and rude! A mean comment is better than no comment! Please, please, please read and review, okay?**


	3. Chapter 3: Attack

Getting Past it All

Chapter 3

**~A/N~ Thank you for the reviews ****Lucille Adams**** and ****jada4669****. I sent you both PMs to show my appreciation. ****Liv****, I would have sent you a PM but you don't have an account so I'll try to show my appreciation as much as I can! I notice I have a lot of readers, but a lot of you are being lazy and not reviewing! I need feedback so can you just please take a couple minutes of your time to review? I spend the time updating, so I think it's only fair. Thank you to my reviewers again! You're my motivation for updating this story! Especially Lucille Adams! I 3 you all and keep enjoying!**

**Disclaimer: Let's face it. If I owned The Hunger Games, I would be rich and I wouldn't need to write this fanfiction anyway. No, The Hunger Games is the wonderful work of art by Suzanne Collins. :P**

**Katniss POV:**

The rest of my day with my mom yesterday was great. We had the lamb stew for dinner, but somehow still leaving leftovers. We talked endlessly after that until she left around 3 in the afternoon so she could work. After she left, I told Peeta I wanted to go to the forest today and asked him if he wanted to come with me. He agreed, so today, we are hunting.

For once, I wake up before him. I shake him awake. "Come on! Peeta, let's go! Hurry up!" His eyes flutter open and he smiles at my enthusiasm to go hunting. I laugh to myself, picturing myself as a 5 year old on their birthday.

"Good morning to you too, hon," he says sarcastically. "Are you sure you want me hunting with you? I don't know if you remember or not, but I'm not that great at being quiet."

"Don't be silly! I don't care as long as it means I get to be with you all day."

"Fine, whatever makes you happy, I guess." We start getting ready for the day before we eat breakfast. Me, being a girl, take longer due to me having to braid my hair, so when I get downstairs, I see something unfamiliar on a plate at the table. It's a circular bakery item, golden in color and littered with square pockets.

"What's this?" I ask curiously.

"Waffles. I guess they used to eat this before the Capitol rose with the Districts. You know, back in America." I cautiously take a bite and feel the flavor explode in my mouth.

"Peeta, either you're a seriously awesome baker or these are delicious no matter who makes them!" I say with my mouth full.

Peeta chuckles at me and looks down, obviously trying to come up with a good remark to that. Finally he looks up at me again. "Well, I do have good buns!" he says cheesily.

"That's the best you can come up with? Good buns?" I manage to get out of my stuffed face. Poor Peeta blushes at the wrath of my taunting. He tries to ignore my laughing as he eats his waffle, and we head out the door. I grab my father's hunting jacket before we leave. We walk to the dead electric fence hand in hand, our hands fitting in each other's perfectly. Peeta starts looking for the hole under the fence that I had to crawl under before the bombing of District 12. "You realize that there are huge unfenced areas now, right?" I ask.

"Jeez, do you ever let up on the taunting?"

"What was that, Pita Bread?" I tease.

"I'm gonna get you for that!" I break free of his hand and run for my life. However, I soon remember I'm a lot faster than him, so I pause to wait for him. I see him coming, slowly walking. I run the distance between us and grab his hand. I then drag him along quickly until I find a gaping hole in the fence.

"Remember, stay quiet, or you'll scare off the prey," I remind him. He nods, and I lead us through the forest to the hollow log where I keep my bow and arrows. After I grab them we head deeper into the forest.

"So where are we going anyway?" Peeta asks in a soft whisper.

"You'll see," is my only reply.

"Oh come on! Just tell me!" he says loudly.

"Shh! You'll scare away every animal for miles around!" I say even more loudly, not really caring about the prey. "Just keep following me," I say at a normal volume.

After about 20 minutes of trudging through weeds, branches, and tall grass, we finally come to the wall of bushes surrounding the area I'm leading us to. "Close your eyes," I say.

"Okay…" he says slowly, wondering what I'm planning. He shuts his eyes tightly and covers them with his hands.

"And no peeking," I warn.

"No peeking," he promises. I take a hold of his arm tightly and lead him through the dense bushes. After we pass through, we walk slowly towards the middle of the clearing.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now." He opens them slowly. As he takes in the sight around us, his eyes widen in amazement. His mouth drops.

"I used to come here with my dad. I never showed this place to anyone, not even Gale," I explain. I took him to the lake I used to go to as a kid.

"It's beautiful." It takes me a few moments to turn and realize he is looking at me whn he says this. I blush, making him laugh. This makes me blush even more. He wraps his arms around me, pulls me close, and plants a kiss on my forehead. After he breaks away, I lean up in an attempt to kiss him, but he pulls away right before our lips meet. He has a glimmer of amusement in his eyes, and I know he is teasing me as payback for before. _Oh, it is on_, I think. I turn away from him and pretend to be angry. He immediately turns me around, worried that I am actually mad at him. I still have a scowl on my face, so I catch him completely by surprise when I quickly reach up and place a kiss on his lips. Before he can do anything to me, I stick my tongue out at him and run away to the nearest tree. I climb up at full speed until I'm about 20 feet high. I see Peeta run to the base of the tree, so I hide behind some leaves.

"Katniss, I know you're up there!" I hear Peeta call up to me. I bite my tongue to hold back the laughter, but it doesn't work. "I can hear you! You can't hide from me forever!"

"Fine! You found me, but how're you gonna get me down?" I say, poking my head out from the leaves.

"Okay, I guess I'll just wander the forest and get lost." I know he's bluffing, but I start scrambling down anyway. I'm about halfway out when I hear it. Peeta cries out in pain and I look down and see…

**~A/N~ Sorry I couldn't resist the temptation of the cliffhanger haha! I'll update soon so I don't leave you hanging too long! Please R&R!**


	4. Chapter 4: Missing

Getting Past it All

**~A/N~ Sorry for leaving the cliffhanger everybody! Because I did I am now forced to update today instead of tomorrow. Thank you again to ****Lucille Adams****, you always know how to make my day with one simple review! You could probably already tell though since I always give a shout-out to you in my A/N. Also, thanks to ****kelliejo19**** for reviewing! I'm sorry I had to do the cliffhanger thing but c'mon, who can really resist doing that? On with the story!**

**Disclaimer: No matter how much I dream and wish and hope that I was Suzanne Collins, I am not. Therefore, instead of making more series like her Hunger Games series, I am stuck writing fan fiction for wonderful readers like you. Therefore, no, I do not own the Hunger Games.**

**Chapter 4: Peeta POV**

As I get slammed against the tree and hear a sickening crunch ringing through my ears, the wind gets knocked out of me. I barely hear Katniss call my name before I fall to the ground, unconscious.

**Katniss POV**

"Peeta!" I call out before he sinks to the ground in front of Gale. I rush down the rest of the tree and push Gale away from Peeta's body. "Gale! Get out of here!" I scream as I push him away forcefully.

"Catni-, I mean Katniss! Let me take him to the clinic!"

"Haven't you done enough? Just go, Gale," I order through my tears. The look in his eyes is full of pain.

"You don't trust me?"

"Well no! How do you expect me to after what I just saw you do?"

"Fine! I'll leave!" Gale shouts. He turns and runs away, making a point of running past Peeta before he's gone. His arm brushes by Peeta's pocket. _Weird,_ I think. _Wonder what that's all about._

Great. Now what do I do? I'm not strong enough to lift Peeta! Then it hits me. My mom still lives by the forest. I'll just run and get her. I turn to run, but something grabs on my leg and I almost fall.

"Don't leave me," Peeta says. I see he has awaken and he is now holding my legs so I can't leave.

"Peeta, you're okay!" I immediately sink down to his level and begin to examine him. Although I never studied medicine a lot like Mom and Prim, I still know the basic things. I see a big bump on the top of the left side of his head, and when I make him look me in the eyes, I see that his pupils are different sizes. His head is also bleeding a little. I know this means he has a concussion.

"Yeah, I feel so great," he says sarcastically while I caress his face.

"Peeta, I know you don't want me to, but I have to go. You have a concussion."

"Please, just stay with me."

"Always." I wrap my arms around him and help him sit up with his back against the tree stained with his own blood. His head has stopped bleeding by now, so I think he'll be okay. Despite his injuries, however, he's the one trying to comfort me as I softly cry into his chest.

"What's wrong, Katniss?"

"I don't know. I guess I was just so worried about you. I could literally kill Gale for what he did to you!" _And what he did to me yesterday,_ I think. Should I tell him now?

"Don't worry about it," he says. "Not now." I need to tell him. It's only fair that he should know the reason I think he was here.

"Peeta, there's something I should really tell you," I say, starting to stop crying.

"I'm listening. I'm here for you."

"I think I know why Gale was here."

This stops him cold. I can tell this is not what he was expecting to hear. In fact, it probably looks like me and Gale planned this since it was my idea to go hunting in the first place. "We don't have to talk about this now if you don't want," I suggest.

"No. It's okay. Let's just get it over with." Talking about Gale is a sore subject and has been since I learned he was in love with me. So basically, yeah, this is gonna be hard.

"You know yesterday, when I went to town?" I start.

"Yes, with the money I gave you. Why, was he there?" Peeta asks.

I nod my head and tell him the whole story. He never once interrupts me. He seems amused when I tell him I slapped Gale, but I know he's mad at Gale for doing this to me. When I finish, he says, "I'm glad you told me this. And I have something I wanna do." He paused to read my expression, which I'm sure is thoroughly confused.

"Peeta, what are you talking about? Are you sure you didn't bump your head too hard on that tree? And why are you laughing at me?"

"Stop worrying about me! I know what I'm saying!" he manages to say between laughs. When he finally stops laughing, he tells me to stand up. I start to protest, thinking he thinks he's fine by himself now and wants me to get help, but he reassures me that he would never ask me to leave.

"Fine! What do you want?" I ask, finally standing up. Then the least expected thing happens to me. Peeta, my love, kneels down on his unharmed knee. My heart is racing and I start leaking out tears of joy. Then, Peeta looks up at me with a worried expression after digging through his pocket. "Peeta, what's wrong?"

"The ring. It's gone."

"What? No, it can't be!"

"I had it when I was running to the tree, I checked!" He's frantically searching the ground around us despite the pain he's probably feeling in his head and scraped knee. Then, I remember something. Gale, when he left. He brushed by really close to Peeta. More specifically, Peeta's pocket. I don't know how he knew it was there, but he did, and he took it. He took the ring, and more important, Peeta's happiness was taken right along with it.

"Peeta, I think I have an idea. Why do you think Gale was here?" He suddenly stops and I know he's furious now. "Just forget about it for now. I'll talk to him, okay?"

"How can I forget about it? Gale ruined everything! It was supposed to go perfect for us!" he shouts. "It was supposed to go perfect for _you_."

"Don't worry, it's not ruined unless you let him ruin it. Seriously, I'll take care of it." I try to comfort him, something I've never been good at. Somehow, by some miracle, it works this time as he wraps his arms around me. I support him as we walk back home. By the time we get back, it's already 12:30. I share the lamb stew with him (still leaving extras! I didn't know it was such a big container) and go to town to get pain medicine for Peeta's head and leg and to give Gale a piece of my mind.

**~A/N~ There, happy? I updated early just so you guys wouldn't be left hanging anymore. I hope you enjoyed it! And don't kill me for hurting Peeta! I had to add some really good drama in here, and not just the **_**everyday**_** Gale stuff, something really original, so this was the product! Hope you enjoyed! And don't forget to review please!**


	5. Chapter 5: Nightmares

Getting Past it All

**~A/N~ Thank you for your reviews everybody! I know, I know, I haven't updated in, like, 5 days! And trust me, I feel horrible for that. I just got really busy. I had a job interview and a family friend came to visit and a whole bunch of other stuff. So honestly, I'm really, really, really sorry! I'll try to update tomorrow too to make up for lost time. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 5: Peeta POV**

We shared lamb stew when we returned home from the forest. I feel a little dizzy from the walk, but I offer to make cheese buns or something so Katniss doesn't get suspicious. However, she wants me to rest so she can go get my medicine. I finally accept that she isn't going to let me cook her something, but I just feel so bad about what happened. I also accept that she is going to talk to Gale no matter what I say. In fact, I have suspicions that she will today when she's getting my medicine. However, I don't dare voice my worry of him making a move on my sweet Katniss in fear that she will shut herself out to me. It wouldn't be the first time it happened either. Besides, with my concussion, I don't have much choice but to watch her go. I get up to give her a kiss goodbye, and before she leaves, she tells me to get some rest. When she leaves, I lie down on the couch, rest my head on the pillow, and do just that.

…

_I feel movement next to me in the bed. I feel someone get out of bed and hear footsteps go across the floor to the door. The door opens and closes, signaling Katniss has left the room. I get out of bed and cross to the window. When I look outside, I see Gale admiring the primrose bushes I planted for Katniss. He's probably waiting for her, since she left the room. I hate that dirty, filthy scumbag. I'm about to turn and head out of my bedroom, but what I see next makes me stop. Katniss leaves the house through the front door and stops on the porch. She and Gale stare at each other for a while before she runs and leaps into Gale's arms. He catches her in his arms. Katniss' back is facing the window I'm staring out of when she wraps her arms around him, and Gale locks his eyes with mine. He has an evil smile on his face. He suddenly changes his malicious grin into an expression of pure joy as he and Katniss pull away. He forcefully kisses her, and I cry as I see her enjoying every second, kissing him back._

Katniss shakes me awake from my nightmare. "Peeta, wake up!" she cries desperately.

"Katniss, what's wrong?" I ask groggily. Then I notice my cheeks are wet with tears and my forehead with sweat. I'm breathing really hard, too. I can see why she's worried. She didn't have to see what I just did.

"What's wrong with you?" she asks softly, her beautiful silver eyes filled with compassion.

"I- I had a nightmare, Katniss. Just don't worry yourself about it."

Her eyes, already filled with compassion, now also exhibit comfort and sadness. "You had a nightmare? I thought the paintings helped you with the nightmares."

"It wasn't about the arena, so they didn't help with this nightmare. Just don't worry about. See? I'm fine now."

"Just tell me what it was about," she pleads. She sits down next to me on the couch and I feel a box through the fabric of her jacket pocket. I sigh as I give up and explain my nightmare.

"I lost you to…" I trail off, not wanting to relive the dream.

"To who?"

"Gale," I mumble. Realization floods her face.

"Peeta! Don't worry about him." She holds me tightly. "I love you," she says into my neck, tickling it slightly with her warm breath.

"I know," is my only reply.

"You don't love me too?" she pouts at me.

"Yes I do, darling. In fact…" I pull the small black box out of her coat pocket as I kneel on the floor in front of her spot on the couch. "…I want you to marry me," I finish. I look up at her magnificent gray eyes and she locks her eyes with my own crystal blue ones. Her eyes are watering just like they were by the lake, somehow doing the impossible and making them even more beautiful. _Let Gale try and ruin this_, I think with a smile, remembering what Katniss said when I tried proposing the first time.

"Peeta, yes, of course I will!" She finally can't help leaping off the couch to hug me anymore, and before I can even get off of the floor, I'm being toppled over. She somehow manages to do it without hurting me at all. I feel her arms wrap tight around me. She kisses me and I brush my tongue over her soft lips, asking for permission. She responds by slightly parting her lips. We kiss for about 10 minutes before the sound of my stomach growling makes her stop. "You need to get some food in you, Mr. Mellark. I'll cook you something."

I stare at her in disbelief. "Since when do you cook?"

"Well, do I have any choice? Someone needs to cook and Greasy Sae is busy."

"Umm, hello, right in front of you!"

"No. You're injured, remember? Besides, we still have enough lamb stew for a bowl. All I have to do is reheat it."

"Yum! Fine with me!" She leaves me so she can heat up the stew in the kitchen as I doze off again, this time into a dreamless sleep.

…

Katniss wakes me up about 15 minutes later and leads me to the kitchen. The stew is already served into a bowl on the table. I sit down on the chair and Katniss sits down on the opposite side. I quickly devour the last of the tasty concoction and she quickly takes my dishes and washes them. "Did you get any medicine for me?" I ask.

"Yeah, actually it's from the Capitol. It's a shot, though; I hope you don't have a problem with that."

"As long as it works." She finishes washing the bowl and places it on the drying rack before she rushes to get the medicine. She carefully injects it into my arm and pulls it out. I immediately feel the effects of the medicine take place. My head is no longer in pain or spinning and I can feel new skin regenerating to cover up the cut on my head.

I look outside and see that it is already dark out. I must have been asleep for a while. I excuse myself to get dressed at my house. I rush to get dressed so I can see Katniss sooner. Before I leave, I grab some cheese rolls and other bakery items that I baked yesterday. These will be good for breakfast. I head back to her house, place the rolls on the counter in the kitchen, and start walking up the stairs when I feel a strange feeling come over me.

This feeling is a familiar one, so as soon as I know what's coming next, I sprint as fast as I can down the stairs, out the door, and to my bedroom in my house. The thoughts in my head start shifting to Katniss unwillingly, because this time, I don't want to think about her. Not as a muttation. But I can't help it.

My thoughts drift to earlier this afternoon. I was looking for something in a tree. Then someone, or some_thing_, hit me. I turned and there was a muttation dog snarling at me. It had gray eyes and long brown fur. The fur was braided sloppily in places but messed up from running through the forest, I'm guessing. The mutt's fur was also on fire. This is Katniss, and she is out to kill me.

Now I'm really mad at her after I remember what she did today. She gave me a concussion. But somehow, maybe because I'm making progress, something in the back of my head tells me it wasn't her, so I lay on my bed after I lock my bedroom door and grip the posts to prevent myself from running to Katniss' house and hurting her. I head back to Katniss' house when my living nightmare has passed.


	6. Chapter 6: Confessions

Getting Past it All

**~A/N~ Thanks for the wonderful reviews, people! Some special reviewers I would like to give thanks to, thank you very much ****Lucille Adams**** for continuing to read my story from the start! You have always been a big motivation for me to keep writing! Also, thank you ****kelliejo19****, you also give me great motivation! I'm sorry I just realized that I didn't have a description for the ring but I will this chapter, I promise!**

**Disclaimer: Really, I have to do one every chapter? :P Last time I looked in a mirror, I didn't see Suzanne Collins, so the Hunger Games is definitely not mine. However, the plot for this story is.**

**Chapter 6: Katniss POV**

"Peeta, what took so long?" I ask as Peeta opens my bedroom door. He's been gone for close to an hour now and I was seriously worried about him, pacing my room.

"Oh, don't worry. I just had something to do." He's not very good at keeping secrets from me anymore. I know him too well now.

"Peeta, just tell me what happened."

"I shouldn't. I don't want you to worry about me when you need to worry about getting to bed."

I sigh in defeat. "Fine, but you better tell me in the morning." I slide my engagement ring off my finger and place the little beauty on my dresser. It's a golden ring with a flower design made with green emerald and white topaz. In the middle is a beautiful white pearl. Not the one Peeta gave me, but another one. There's an inscription on the inside that says, "Stay with me always."

I walk over to the bed and take up a half of it. Peeta lays down next to me, each of us on our sides and looking into each other's eyes until they begin to flutter closed. I wrap my arms around his neck and he wraps his around my waist, pulling me in close. Our foreheads meet, and soon after, so do our lips. I still can't get used to the way his lips taste. It's always so sweet, and the gently yet passionate way he kisses me always completely takes my breath away and leaves me longing for more. But I don't get my wish, because Peeta breaks away first after about a half hour. He leans to my ear and whispers, "Good night, I love you." Then, whit our bodies still close and our arms wrapped around each other, he lays his head down on the pillow. I lean over and whisper, "Good night, I love you too," before resting my head on his wwarm chest. For the first time since Prim died, I don't dream of anything. Nothing good, but nothing bad, either, which means no nightmares.

**Peeta POV**

When I wake up Katniss the next morning, I can tell that something is bothering her. In fact, it's really been this way since she got home yesterday, but it seems to be getting progressively worse.

She's upstairs getting dressed right now while I reheat the cheese rolls. When she comes down, I greet her with a smile. Her hair looks gorgeous today. I mean, it always does, but she left it down today, the way I love it best. Although she returns my smile, it doesn't seem genuinely happy.

"Katniss, what's wrong?" I ask.

She looks up at me and replies, "What do you mean?"

"Look, I know something's bothering you, and it has been since you got home yesterday after you got the medicine from the clinic and the ring from-" I suddenly stop, the realization of why she's upset slapping me in the face.

"What? What about the ring?"

"What happened with Gale yesterday?" I demand gently.

"I don't know what you mean."

"Yes you do, just please tell me. I promise I won't get mad. I can't possibly be mad at you."

She sighs loudly to express her discontent, and when she talks, she sounds defeated. "Gale kissed me yesterday."

"So what? I'll admit, I'm mad at him, but this wouldn't be the first time, Katniss."

"It's the first time I kissed him back," she says quietly, barely a whisper. But I heard her clearly.

"You kissed him back? Katniss, why?"

"You don't understand! He wouldn't give me the ring unless I kissed him. I'm extremely sorry, Peeta, but I had to get the ring back after what he did to you. Trust me, I didn't' really want to."

"He made you kiss him? That little son of a bi-"

"Peeta!" she cuts me off with a smile. "You little foul-mouth!"

I smile at that. "You know, you don't have to apologize, but if it makes you feel better, I forgive you."

"Really?"

"Mm-hmm," I say with a nod.

"Thank you so much!" Katniss says as she wraps her arms around me, hugging me tightly. Her face is buried in my chest, so I hold her closer until I feel her face pull away. Her arms are still around me, but she's looking up at me. "Tell me what happened last night," she says seriously.

"Katniss, really, it was nothing."

"Just tell me."

"Do I really have to?" I whine.

"Yes, you do. I told you what happened to me and Gale, didn't I?" she argues.

"Yeah, I guess," I say playing with my hands and looking down at my feet.

"Did you have an episode?"

I know I can't lie to her anymore. Somehow, she always knows. "Yes, I did."

"Tell me about," she says. She notices my hesitation, and when I start to protest, she replies, "I don't care if I was a mutt or a person or even President Snow! All that matters is that you tell me what happened and that you are okay."

"Fine," I agree. "This flashback was yesterday when we were by the lake. I was looking for something in a tree, which I now know was you, when something launched itself at me. It was you as a wolf muttation. You had long dark brown fur, braided in some places, but it was on fire. You had piercing, murderous gray eyes, and I'll be the first to admit, I was terrified. I came to the conclusion that it was your fault I was injured, but after a while, I was able to tell myself that it wasn't real. I chanted it over and over and over in my head again and again until my flashback was over. But I still can't believe I would believe that you would actually do that to me." At this point, I'm softly crying because I'm really angry at myself and what the Capitol made me think. It reminds me that it would be a miracle if I can ever completely remove the flashbacks from my life. However, telling her about it makes me feel better, especially when she wraps her arms around me in a tight embrace. I kiss her forehead and she continues to hug me until my eyes are dry. I remind myself that if I want to spend the rest of my life with her, I need to trust her with the knowledge of my flashbacks. She might even help me achieve miracles, and I smile at the thought of leading a venom-free life with the love of my life.

**~A/N~ I know, I know, boring, right? Sorry but it was more of a filler chapter. I hope it wasn't too bad! Just a heads-up, I'm actually on the 13****th**** chapter now in my notebook, and in my opinion, it gets a heck of a lot more exciting. A little sad and upsetting, yes, but better. Let's just say it involves a flashback and this time, Peeta isn't alone when it happens! Thanks for reading! :D**


	7. Chapter 7: Anger

Getting Past it All

**~A/N~ Okay, so I was in a really good mood because I finished writing two and a half chapters yesterday alone so I'm posting today instead of in two days. Also, if my excessive writing keeps up, I might get to change my posting schedule to every day instead of every three days!**

**Warning: Profanity from our beloved Peeta!**

**Disclaimer: Nope. I'm not Suzanne Collins. Which means that no, I don't own the Hunger Games (sadly :/).**

**Chapter 7: Peeta POV**

After breakfast, I decide to help out at the bakery for a few hours. Katniss wants to stay home and do some chores, possibly hunt, while I help out my family. As I walk down the street towards town, I can't keep my mind off of Katniss. I vowed to myself I would keep her safe from the Games after I saw her at the sign-up for tesserae. Of course, my heart sank when Prim was reaped, and even more when she volunteered as tribute. I told myself that even if someone else was reaped, I would volunteer to protect Katniss, just like she did to protect her sister. I never imagined I would win. I was too focused on keeping her safe. In fact, I didn't want to win because that would mean certain death for the one I loved since the age of five. I just wanted to stay alive long enough to protect from any harm thrown her way. I never imagined I would happily live with her after the Games, either, but look where we are now.

By the time I'm able to get my mind off of my new fiancé, I'm at the bakery already. As soon as I walk in the door, my little brother, Sesame, launches himself at me. Maybe I should tell you about my brothers. Sesame is fourteen, but still acts like a little kid at times, and, from what Katniss tells me, especially around her. My older brother, Rye, is twenty-one and can be a real stick in the mud sometimes. Like when I was twelve and Rye caught me looking at Katniss when we were walking home from school. He said, "Get your head out of the clouds and choose someone else. She's a dirty Seam girl." I glared at him and wouldn't talk to him for a week. That's his idea of fun. I personally think that getting a girlfriend would be great for him, but he's always too serious. In the meantime, it's fun to annoy him by talking about Katniss.

Sesame starts out the conversation with the usual question: "Did you do it yet?"

"Yes, I did!" of course, he is referring to the proposal. Both Sesame and Rye knew about it for a while, and everytime I see them, I get asked the same question, which, in turn, gets the same answer. The look in Sesame's eyes this time lets me know I completely surprised him. "She said yes, didn't she? Didn't she?" he asks impatiently. I just smile, too happy right now for words. I walk to the back by the ovens with a smile plastered on my face. I pull on an apron. I hear the bell ring up front, signaling the arrival of a customer.

"Can I talk to Peeta?" asks an all too familiar voice. The smile gets wiped off my voice as what Gale said seeps into my brain.

"Peeta? Someone wants you up front!" calls Sesame.

"Just tell him I'm busy baking please!"

I hear Sesame tell him and Gale tells him something else, but I'm too far away to hear the words. "He says it's important!" says Sesame, coming to the back to get me. I walk up to the counter with a scowl on my face. Sesame follows me all the way back. I turn to him when we get there and sweetly say, "Sesame, why don't you find me the recipe for buttercream icing?" He runs off, leaving me alone with one of my least favorite people in the world. "What do you want? I'm a little busy."

"We need to talk."

"About?" I say, annoyed.

"I don't think Katniss is safe around you."

"Oh, yeah? How?"

"Don't pretend I don't know you still have episodes! I wouldn't be surprised if she suffers from a near-death experience every other week," he scoffs.

"Gale, shut the hell up! This is none of your f*cking business!" I scream.

"Then why does she always talk to me about it? That she's afraid of you? Obviously, it looks like it's my business to protect her from you!" he shouts, equaling my own volume. The noise causes my mom to hear and she walks up to the front and stops next to me.

"What's with all the yelling up here?" she asks.

"Nothing, me and Peeta were just having a talk, Mrs. Mellark," Gale lies.

"You know damn well that's not it! Just go and leave me and Katniss alone!" Gale leaves and my mom turns to look at me. To my surprise, her face wears an expression of concern.

"What was that all about?" she asks.

"I'd rather not talk about it," I huff and return to the back.

"Do you want the day off? I don't mind. Sesame and Rye could pick up some slack," she suggests.

"No. Don't give me any special treatment," I refuse.

She shrugs and says, "Fine," before returning to her oven. I try to focus on my work for a good couple hours, but I keep messing things up, like missing an ingredient or spilling the bag of flour. I can't decipher if Katniss really would have confided in Gale about her fear of me, or even if she is afraid of me. If she is, it would break my heart. _C'mon, Peeta. You know she isn't. Gale is just messing with your head, _ I try to convince myself. My mother notices how distracted I am and turns me around to face her.

"Just go. You obviously have some things to talk about with Katniss," she trys to offer again.

"Fine. I'll go." I put my apron away and head towards the door. "Bye!" I call out to my family.

"Wait! Did you ask her yet?" my mom asks.

"How do you know about that?" I ask, feeling the heat of a blush creeping onto my face and a smile crawl across my features.

"Sesame told me. And by the look on your face, you did ask her, and she said yes." She smiles and says, "Bye, Peeta!" before I run all the way home.

…

When I reach the house, I open the door withouth knocking. What I see makes me slam the door closed and run to Haymitch's house. I furiously knock on the door until it finally opens.

"Peeta, what do-" he stops as he sees how mad I must look. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Katniss and Gale are making out on the couch," I growl.

"Well, what do you want me to do, Lover Boy?"

"Don't. Call. Me. That. Ever! Just go talk to her or something!"

"Oooh, feisty today, aren't we? Fine, just make yourself at home." He walks to the couch and sits down.

"Well, aren't you going to get your drunk ass over there? Like, now?" I ask, furious.

"Okay, okay, I'm going! Just don't completely trash the place while I'm gone." He walks to the door and leaves.

**~A/N~ I don't want to spend too long on author's note today, but I have a question for my wonderful reviewers. If I created a story after I'm done with this one, what should it be about and what should it be called. Don't worry, I'm not planning on ending this one soon or anything, I just want to have something planned. Hoped you enjoyed the chapter! Remember, there's a little button called the review button, right down there hint hint **


	8. Chapter 8: Forceful

Getting Past it All

**~A/N~ A special thanks to my wonderful reviewers! ****Kate Mellark****, if you are still reading this, this chapter will explain what really happened so please give me another shot. Like always, thanks to ****Lucille Adams**** for the great review and the good story idea. ****Teampeeta4eva888****, aww, thanks you so much! ****Always448****, I'm really glad you like, and I promise, there is a lot more. I'm planning on dragging it out until the younger child is maybe 13? And last, but definitely not least, ****Sweetness****, wow, that was a long review! I really appreciate your support for my story and like I said earlier, everything will soon be explained! Just read on!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games **

**Chapter 8: Haymitch POV**

I walk out the door, and as soon as I close it, I immediately hear the sound of glass breaking and walls being hit. I don't really care about my house anyway. If I were him, I'd probably do the same thing. He really loves that girl. I walk two houses down and knock once. When no one answers after a couple seconds, I do what I usually do and open the door on my own. What I see is sort of what Peeta described. I don't think he noticed that Gale was forcing himself on her though. Gale is roughly kissing her, and what could be mistaken for intimacy is Katniss trying her hardest to push Gale away, but he is far too strong for her.

"Gale, get off of her," I growl menacingly.

"You don't understand Haymitch. I saw Peeta making out with a girl in the alley by the bakery before his shift started," Gale responds, finally breaking away from a disgruntled Katniss.

"Don't listen to him! He tried feeding me the same lies!" pleads Katniss. Gale takes this chance to launch himself at the poor girl again. I take out my knife and wave it like mad as I approach him.

"Gale, go," I grumble. He just continues, so I shout, "NOW!" into his ear and he jumps up off the couch. He runs to the door and towards the Seam where his house lies. "Katniss, sweetheart, what happened?"

"I-I can't talk about it now. Where's Peeta? I heard him come in."

"He thought you were willingly kissing him. He got pretty mad and headed to my place. It's getting to be a war zone over there, I'm sure of it."

"I need to go over there and talk to him!" she exclaims.

"Go ahead, I'll just do some errands or something for a while and leave you two alone," I offer. She nods enthusiastically and starts to run toward the door. "Wait!" I say.

"Huh?" she says as she turns to face me again.

"Just stay away from the bedroom," I reply, smiling as I see the blush creep up on her face as her scowl appears. She ignores me and runs to my house. I head toward the town to pass the time away.

**Katniss POV**

My run to Haymitch's house two doors down doesn't give me much time to think, but whatever time I have my head is swimming with thoughts of pure rage towards Gale. Number one, he lied to me about poor, poor Peeta. Apparently, he saw him kissing some merchant girl in an alley by the bakery when he stopped by to get some bread in exchange for some squirrels. Of course, I didn't believe a word he said. Number two, when that didn't convince me to leave Peeta for him, he decided it would be okay to just force himself on me. And now, since Peeta thinks that I was making out with Gale, he probably hates me. Great. I feel the cornier of my eye moisten as it fills with unwanted tears. I wipe away the salty liquid and run to Haymitch's house, whipping open the door.

The house is a complete, utter disaster. When I see Peeta, he's punching a hole in the wall. I run up to him and wrap my arms around his waist from behind. He turns around, and I see the anger change into confusion when he sees my watering eyes.

"Peeta, it isn't what you think," I try to explain.

"Then, what happened?" he says, his eyes furrowing in thought.

I let out a sigh and told him exactly what I was thinking just minutes before on my way here. I'm on the verge of crying by the end of the story when I tell him about how I thought he'd hate me. "I'm so sorry, Peeta," I finish. "I'll do anything to make up for the hurt I caused you."

"You don't have to say sorry," he reassures. "I do have a question though."

"Anything. I'm listening."

"Did you really tell Gale about my flashbacks? Are you actually scared of me like he told me you told him?

"Peeta, of course not! I never said a single word about any of that. Plus, I'm not even cowering in fear when you're holding that knife so close to me," I say with a laugh.

"Oh, sorry about that." He throws the knife at the wall by the fridge, and, surprisingly, it sticks. Then he pulls me in tight to hug me as I push back the tears. I return the hug.

"What can I do to make it up to you?" I say into his chest.

"I told you already, nothing," he says. "It wasn't your fault."

"But I still feel terrible! Just say something. It'll ease the guilt that's hovering over me."

He contemplates for a few moments before he finally gives an answer. "I'm getting a surgery Dr. Aurelius has told me about. I might be gone a while, but I want you to stay in the Capitol with me."

"And what exactly does this surgery do?" I ask.

"If it works, I'll be completely free of the venom."

"What's the catch, Peeta?"

"It's experimental. They're testing it on me to see if it works because, apparently, I'm not the first to fall victim to that form of torture. I'm just the worst case yet."

"Peeta, I can't let you. What if something bad happens?"

"I'll be okay, don't worry about it. Just promise you'll come to the Capitol with me."

I let out a defeated sigh, knowing he isn't going to let this die until I agree. "Fine, I promise. I also promise never to talk to Gale again."

"You don't have to do that. I can't make you do that. He has been your best friend almost as long as I was in love with you."

"Almost. Therefore, you win. Besides, I love you too much to let that happen ever again. I could kill Gale for what he did to me. For what he did to _you_."

"I love you more," he says, grinning stupidly.

"Fine, you win." I walk away from Peeta towards the door, but quickly turn and run towards him again. I catch him by surprise, and we fall over in each other's arms. We are both laughing hard now, and we can't seem to stop. I don't even remember the last time I was this happy. Peeta's face is read from the excessive laughing, and I'm sure mine mimics his. When I finally stop, Peeta's face changes from a playful expression to a serious one. "What?" I ask.

"If something does go wrong in the operating room, you need to promise me something."

"Anything."

"You promise?" He holds out his pinkie finger.

"Yes, I promise," I reply, giggling, as I wrap my finger around his, sending electricity through my body just at the mere touch.

"You need to be happy with someone, anyone else. Maybe Gale, maybe someone else, I don't care, Katniss. You know the last thing I would want is for you to let my death take control of your life."

"Peeta, you can't make me promise you something like that," I say sadly. I feel my eyes tear up again just at the thought of something happening to my Peeta.

"Sweetheart, baby, please don't cry." His eyes change from seriousness to a look full of care and compassion. My watery gaze gets caught in the beautiful sapphire blue pools, and he stares into my gray ones.

"I-I just don't want to believe that you'll ever be gone!" I sway as the tears start falling slowly down my cheek. Peeta puts his hand on my cheek and brushes a tear away with his thumb. As I start to argue more, his lips silence me. When the short, sweet kiss is over, he pulls away and holds his finger to my lips to continue the effect his lips had on me just seconds ago. It works, because I can now do nothing but let my eyes stare at Peeta's eyes. That frozen state is broken as Peeta leans down to kiss me. I lean in slowly to meet him halfway and join our lips together. I feel his lips just barely brush mine-

_SLAM!_

"What on earth are you guys doing? Isn't an hour and a half enough for you people?" Haymitch inquires as he slams the door open loudly. I notice the position we are in, and I know I'm blushing when I feel the heat rush to my cheeks. We are lying down in the kitchen, wrapped tightly in each other's arms. Our lips have just barely pulled away from the intimate kiss. Our eyes are twinkling with amusement and surrounding us is a giant mess of scattered knives, splattered food, and other things lying on the floor. The walls are littered with holes from Peeta's punches, and there's still a knife stuck in the wall by the refrigerator. We sit up as I try to explain.

"Umm, Haymitch-"I get cut off by Peeta, thankfully, because he's a lot better with words than I am. I swear, he could convince me that I usually hunt loaves of bread instead of animals if he was at it long enough.

"Oh, hey, Haymitch. Katniss was just helping me out, you know, cleaning up," he lies smoothly. However, Haymitch can see easily through this lie.

"Then why isn't anything cleaned up?"

"Oh, we got a little…distracted, I guess." Me and Peeta exchange sly grins, remembering what just happened. I look down and see our hands are still together, making my smile widen.

"Some distraction! However, I prefer to call it making up," Haymitch replies. My already dark blush deepens.

"Do you want some help cleaning up?" I offer.

"No, I got it. Why don't you two lovebirds go make up somewhere else?" he says tauntingly.

"Oh, ha ha, Haymitch," I say sarcastically.

"Very funny," Peeta finishes for me. I smile at him.

"Oh, just go already, I'll take care of this mess," Haymitch reassures us. And with that, we leave and head back towards my house.

**~A/N~ The question is still up for suggestions from last chapter! What kind of Hunger Games story should I do next after this one is over and what should it be called? PM me or review to reply please! And thanks for all the reviews! It really made my day! G' night!**


	9. Chapter 9: Sweet Dreams

Getting Past it All

**~A/N~ I have decided that I will use all of the ideas I get for a new story. Also, I have to do a parody because my little brother begged me to, if any of you are interested, I need a title for it. Thanks to **** .5**** for the good idea! First I will have to do my brother's idea. Then I will do Lucille Adams idea since she was first. Then you are next in line. Now, ****Teampeeta4eva888****, I'm really glad you like my story so much, and c'mon, do you really think I'll let our sweet Peeta die? If I had it my way, he'd be an immortal god! Lastly, ****Lucille Adams****, I promise, you're in for a treat! Great reading everybody!**

**Disclaimer: Suzanne Collins is the amazing artist of such an amazing trilogy, The Hunger Games. Sadly, I am not her.**

**Chapter 9: Peeta POV**

We go back to our house hand-in-hand. When we walk through the door, I immediately head to the kitchen. "What do you want for lunch, Katniss?" I ask.

"I don't know, I'm not really hungry," she replies. I know she's still thinking about what happened to her because she's staring at the couch where it all happened.

"You need to eat," I scold. "Just forget about what happened, it's not a big deal to me."

"Fine. How about I cook then?" she suggests.

"Are you crazy?"

"Hey! I did fine when you hit your head, remember? Besides, I was just going to roast some groosling."

"Where'd you get that?" I ask, curious.

"I hunted this morning, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, right. I forgot about that."

"Well, do you want it or not?"

"Yeah, okay, I guess." Then after thinking for a couple of minutes, I come up with an idea. "Let's just have a picnic in the forest. That way, I can pick berries too." I look at Katniss' face for an answer. She smiles.

"That's a great idea!" Together we fold blankets, get containers for the berries, and put silverware, napkins, and plates into a basket. I'm only holding the two containers when we walk out the door, since Katniss insisted she carry the blankets and the basket. On our way to the woods, I move the containers to one hand and put the other arm around Katniss as we walk. She moves closer so that our sides are brushing when we walk. We walk this way all the way to the fence. However happy I am, I feel someone staring at me as we walk.

**Katniss POV**

It feels so right, having Peeta's arm around me. It's like his arm was molded so it would perfectly fit the contours of my back. I move closer to him so I can feel electricity run through my body every time our sides touch. When I do this, Peeta looks down at me and smiles. I smile back and rest my head on his shoulder, exhausted from fighting off Gale. Peeta stops walking, and I realize we've reached a giant hole in the fence. I pick up my head so I can lead the way into the forest, but Peeta reassures me he knows where he wants to go. He whispers to me to lay my head back down, and I'm not about to argue. I lay my head on his shoulder again. I start to feel drowsiness overcome me as I feel my eyelids begin to droop. Next thing I know, I am in a meadow.

_I'm in a meadow. I wave to Rue, Prim, Finnick, and some of the other dead tributes I have befriended. They are sitting in an almost complete circle around a campfire. Prim beckons me over to sit down in the one empty spot next to her, and I do. "Thanks for visiting us, Katniss," says Rue._ Visit?_ I think. I don't think this was a conscious decision, but I don't regret it. I look around to the circle, and I notice that Mags, Cinna, my father, and Foxface are also here. Then I notice _her.

_I can't help but glare at Clove. She didn't belong here. These people were my friends, my allies, and then Clove, who tried to kill me in the first Games. "What are you doing here?" I snarl._

"_Settle down, girl on fire," she replies. I shudder at the name she used for me._

"_Please, just call me Katniss. Girl on fire is a name the Capitol coined for me. It just reminds me of a time where me and my loved ones were all in danger if I made one wrong move."_

"_Okay, Katniss," she says with a smile. Creepy, she's actually smiling. "There's a reason we're all here." I cock my head to the side. "We're all here to congratulate you on your baby."_

"_What?" I shout. Then I look down and notice the bump in my belly and give a little scream. "I don't know how this happened! It has to be a mistake! I never did…that…with Peeta, I swear."_

_Cinna steps forward and hugs me tight. "Katniss, this is the future. You will have a baby with Peeta if you continue on the path you are on." I stare at the group in disbelief as they nod their heads. Then I look down at the baby sleeping in my womb. I can't help but smile. Even though I always vowed to never have children, I'm very happy with the realization that I might get to share my happiness with a son, or even a daughter. Maybe it's not such a bad idea after all. Besides, the Games are no longer in existence, and Peeta will keep them safe. But I still have my doubts._

_The group of friends congratulates me one by one, until three remain. Rue, Prim, and Clove._

_Rue approaches me first. "Thanks for avenging me. Also for not letting the Capitol control me, even after I died. You made my death…" she pauses, searching for a word._

"_Memorable?" I try._

"_Yes," she replies, grinning. "Thank you, Katniss. You will always remain in mine and Prim's heart."_

"_Prim?"_

"_Yes, we are great friends now."_

"_I knew you two seemed so alike. I think that's why I tried so hard to help you. You reminded me of the sister I saved from the Reaping."_

"_Thanks again, Katniss." She leaps up and hugs me. "Goodbye."_

"_Not a problem, Rue. Goodbye." She breaks away from the hug and walks over by the edge of the meadow, undeniably waiting for Prim. Prim walks up to me next, leaving Clove waiting to speak to me by a patch of flowers I recognize as katniss flowers. _

"_Katniss, you need to stop." Prim breaks my gaze at the flower patch._

"_Huh? Stop what?" I ask, confused._

"_Having those nightmares. I died a very noble death, and you need to remember that. I may have been young, but I died for what I was meant to die for. I died for saving others."_

"_Prim, how can you expect me to just get over your death just like that?" I ask._

"_Please, just try for me?"_

"_Oh, you know I can't say no to a face like that. Okay, I'll try, but just for you, little duck."_

"_Thanks Katniss!" she squeals. "And thanks for choosing Peeta."_

"_Why are you thanking me for that?"_

"_Well, between you and me, I've known about him liking you for a long time. He used to confide in me all the time," she answers with a giggle. "I also used to have a little teeny tiny crush on him. Besides, you need someone to live for. He makes you happy, it's perfect."_

_I nod in agreement. "I think you should go join your friend. Better not make her wait."_

"_Bye, Katniss. I love you."_

"_Goodbye my little primrose. I love you, too." And with that, she's gone. All that's left now is Clove. I approach her in the middle of the katniss patch. "Why are you here?" I ask. It doesn't sound mean, just curious._

"_I wanted to apologize," she says as she looks down to the ground._

"_A-apologize?" I stammer._

"_Yes, for trying to kill you." She pauses for a moment before going on. "Since I died, I've come to realize how selfish the Capitol is and what the Hunger Games really are. All they are is a sick form of entertainment for the citizens of the Capitol."_

"_You are completely forgiven, Clove." She looks at me with gratitude._

"_Friends?" she tries, holding out her hand._

"_Friends," I confirm, shaking her hand. As she leaves, I find myself back in the woods of District 12._

**~A/N~ Hope you liked this chapter! If I get enough reviews, I'll update tonight! Also, still looking for more story ideas. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check the author's note for chapter 7 or 8. Lots of violence in just 2 chapters! ****Lucille Adams**** and **** .5****, if you have names for a title for your story idea or any additional information you want me to know about your idea, like something you want included in the story, just PM or leave the comment in reviews please! Happy reading and please review!**


	10. Chapter 10: Picnics and Foolishness

Getting Past it All

**~A/N~ Lots of reviews to thank for today! ****Jada4669****, thanks for enjoying! ****GabbyGaspard****, I'll keep it up until the story's over. Then I'll have to make more stories! ****Lucille Adams****, my thoughts exactly! Do you want to name the babies when the time comes? PM me! ****Katie****, I'm sorry the characters are a little OOC, but this is how I wish they would interact. Besides that, I'm glad you're liking the story so far! ****E****, aww me too! ****Briespacoroni****, I have special plans for both the family and Gale, so just wait and see. I guess my story is a tiny bit A/U. ****HGFan1213****, glad you love it! And sorry for the wait to update. ****Guest****, glad you like it! Lastly, ****always448****, always happy for more ideas, so keep thinking! I'm glad you like the different POVs, because they're really fun to write. Now, on to the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own THG, nor will I ever. In fact, I don't think I'll ever own a book as awesome as that!**

**Chapter 10: Katniss POV**

Sure enough, I'm back in the woods of District 12. Honestly, I'm impressed by Peeta's ability to maneuver through the forest, especially with me in his arms. He has made his way to a nice clearing, not too far into the forest. I know this place well. My father used to take me here when I was a child, still learning how to hunt. Not far from here is the cabin.

I hear rustling and moving behind me. I turn around to see Peeta, setting up the blankets. He already has both of the containers filled with berries and has even made a fire for me to cook the groosling.

"Peeta?" I say groggily.

"Yes, Sleeping Beauty?" I scowl at his pet name for me.

"How long was I out for?"

"About an hour and a half." My half-closed eyes are now wide open in shock.

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Because, for once, you weren't having a nightmare. In fact, you looked happy." He pauses for a moment before going on. "What were you dreaming about, anyway?"

"I'll tell you later. It was a weird dream; I'll leave it at that."

"Okay, I guess," he says with a pout.

"How did you find your way through the woods?" I ask.

"I'm not sure, and I'm definitely not going to be able to find my way back out either, so I hope you know where we are."

I nod. "Yeah, my dad took me here when I still didn't know how to hunt."

"You mean there was actually a time where you couldn't hunt?" he says sarcastically. I blush, hating that he can make me feel this way and loving it at the same time.

"Do you want to hear about the dream now?" I ask.

"Only if you're ready to tell me. You can tell me while I cook the groosling," Peeta responds.

"Okay. Well, first, I woke up in a mea- Wait, _what?_" I say, finally noticing what he said.

"Go on," is his only reply.

"Um, I thought I was cooking the groosling!" He shrugs his shoulders in answer.

"You snooze, you lose, Katniss. That's just the way things go."

"I don't think so!"

"Oh well." I begin thinking of a way to get him to let me cook the meal.

"But you got all the berries, set up the blankets, and even _carried me here_! Can't you just let me do one thing?" I try.

"Not going to work on me."

"I won't tell you my dream until you agree to let me cook the groosling," I blurt. Peeta pouts and I give in this time. "Fine, you can cook, but you owe me."

"Like what?" he asks. I ponder the question.

"How about…you have to teach me how to bake something tomorrow?"

"Deal," Peeta agrees and nods. As he walks over to the fire and spit and starts roasting the animal I killed, cleaned, and gutted, I launch into an explanation of my dream.

"Well, first, I woke up, and I was in a meadow. There was a group of people around a campfire. People we know. Then, they sta-" I start.

"Who was there?" Peeta interrupts.

"Umm," I say, trying to remember. "Rue, Prim, Finnick, Cinna, Mags, Foxface, my dad, and Clove."

"Clove?! What the hell was she doing there?" he asks angrily. Obviously, he knows that she almost killed me, and would have, if it wasn't for Thresh, since we had to watch the tapes again after we won and got back home.

"I'm getting to it! No more interruptions," I scold. Peeta grumbles a "fine" before I start again. I explain everything except for one detail that I just want to keep to myself until I sort out my feelings about it. The baby. I tell him that they were there to say a proper goodbye to me and that Clove wanted to apologize.

When I finish, I'm crying. Peeta has the groosling cooked already, so he comes over and holds me in his arms. I guess I'm not ready to deal with Prim being gone yet. I cry for those who are gone, but I also cry because I'm grateful for Prim trying to help me overcome the nightmares, even if it doesn't work. He holds me for maybe ten minutes, maybe an hour. I'm not sure. I'm never sure. Time just fades away when I'm with him.

**Peeta POV**

I know she's leaving something out, but I refuse to ask her about it. She'll tell me when she's ready. All I'm worried about right now is comforting her. It's a tough subject for her to talk about, not only Prim's death, but her other friends and family, too. I immediately feel bad for wanting her to tell me what she dreamt about so bad. I'm not sure how much time has passed since she started crying, but I don't care, not about the time spent holding each other or my now tear-stained shirt. Katniss needs both the time and the shoulder to cry on, so there isn't a thing I'd rather be doing right now. I ignore my growling stomach until her own stomach starts to follow suit. By this time, her sobbing has winded its way down to a sniffling and hiccupping. We each take our share of the roasted meat and berries and eat side by side. She finishes first and sits silently in thought.

"What are you thinking about?" I ask. She jumps as if I had startled her. Oops.

"About what I want to do when you're done eating," she lies. I can easily tell because her eyes are looking anywhere but back into my eyes. However, I still refuse to question her.

"So what do you want to do?" I ask, playing along with the lie.

"Swim. I want to swim," she says after a long while.

"Katniss, I can't swim, remember?"

"I can teach you." I nod my head, and she leads the way to the lake we had gone to once before. When we get there, my eyes, once again, open up in amazement at the sight of the lake.

"Can I paint this sometime?" I ask, trying to stall entering the deep water and to ease my nervousness of drowning.

"Why not?" We stare at the lake in silence for a while. "So, are we going to swim or not?" she asks, breaking the silence.

"Sure," I say, making no move to remove my clothes.

"At least turn around or something," she says.

"Why?"

"So you don't stare at me, making me uncomfortable, while I am undressing."

"But, Katniss…" I whine. She argues with me until I finally turn around.

"Okay, now your turn!" she says, sounding a little excited at the thought of me half naked. I turn around and see that she's just in her underclothes now. I can see her scars all along her body. Noticing that I'm staring at her, she blushes in embarrassment and runs into the bushes after pulling her socks back on. I strip off my shirt and jeans, leaving my socks on, and run to the spot where she entered the woods.

"Katniss, come on!" I push past the bushes and see forest. In the distance, I hear a growl, startling me a bit. Immediately after the growl, something brushes past my back. I jump and turn around quickly, only to see nothing. Now something touches my leg, startling me again, but this time, arms wrap around my waist. I relax and turn around to see that Katniss was tricking me. "I'll get you back for that, you know," I whisper.

"Have fun with that one," she taunts. We walk back to the lake, laughing the whole way there at how easy it is to scare me.

**~A/N~ I'm sorry, it's a boring chapter. But I promise, I'll make up for it next chapter, because next chapter is VIOLENT CHAPTER! *Gasp!* I know a lot of you are excited for that one, so I'll try to update soon. If you still like the story, please review, favorite, and follow, and I will be eternally grateful! Also, I still only have 3 stories to do later, after this story. I'm still young, I have plenty of time for more stories, so keep 'em coming! Thanks for reading!**

**3 Brianna**


	11. Chapter 11: Episode

Getting Past it All

**~A/N~ ****Mrs. Mellark15****, I'm sorry, but this story is a little bit A/U. Gale is in 12 for the time being too. ****InsaneXBexX24****, I'm so glad you actually read my story! I didn't really think you would, since I saw on your profile that you're not a Katniss/Peeta person, but you did, so thank you very much! However, I really like your stories too, and I don't usually read stories about other tributes that I don't know, and that turned into my favorite story! ****Mar9215****, thank you so much for the review on EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER! You are so AMAZING! On to the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games, but according to mar9215, I have to be easier on myself, so I guess I might have a really awesome story someday that could compare with THG, but I'll have to get back to you on that!**

**Chapter 11: Katniss POV**

I step into the freezing, yet refreshing, lake and try to urge Peeta to do the same. "I don't know if I can do this, Katniss," he claims. Even when I tried teaching him in the Quarter Quell, he remained unteachable. "My leg didn't suddenly grow back or anything since the first games. It's still not a real leg."

"Just step in. The water doesn't bite," I reply.

"I realize that it doesn't bite. It drowns people. Is that better?" he replies, obviously trying to find any way possible out of this.

"I won't let you drown, I promise."This reassures him and he finally steps into the water. I start by trying to teach him how to float on his back. He can do it for about ten seconds, but then starts to sink. So I decide to continue my lesson with the doggie paddle. When he finally starts to get the hang of that one, the sun is already setting, so we climb onto the banks of the lake to watch the sunset. I notice some gray clouds in the distance, threatening rain. I hope it's not travelling too fast, because I don't want to leave prematurely. However, I think it will stay away long enough. I haven't heard any thunder or seen any lightning yet.

"Peeta?" I ask, watching as the clouds come closer, inch by inch, threatening to cover our sunset.

"Yes?"

"Should we maybe start planning our wedding?" I ask awkwardly. It's not going to be easy for me to plan it.

"Yeah, probably."

"I don't even know where to start, though," I admit. Peeta chuckles a bit at my whining. "Maybe I can just call Effie tomorrow and tell her that she needs to come over for an emergency visit?"

"You know, that would work. Effie loves planning things," he says with a smile, reminiscing over past memories with Haymitch and Effie. He lies down and I curl up next to him. It's starting to get a little chilly out, but Peeta's warmth keeps me comfortable. We watch the sunset fade into darkness as the ominous, dark clouds creep closer and closer. When the wind starts making chills course through my body, chilling me to the bone, I start grabbing our things. I hear a groan of loud thunder emitting from the rain clouds. I look up and see that they are quickly covering the clearing we are in. Just as I am about to look away, I see a flash of lightning, and something hits me hard in the back.

I crash hard into the ground, the things I was carrying scattered around me. I look around and see Peeta lumbering toward me. His eyes are glazed over and furious. He picks up a large boulder, maybe about thirty pounds heavy, and lifts it over his head. When he's directly over me, I close my eyes and curl up, waiting for the pain to come, knowing I couldn't fight him off if I tried.

Pain. That's all I can think about. The searing pain shooting up my leg. It's broken for sure, eliminating all chances of my escape. I risk opening my eyes and I see the boulder lying next to my mangled right leg. I scream out in pain, but it won't do me any good. I'm alone out here. How, more than ever, I wish for Gale to be here, to at least protect me for a little bit. To my amazement, I get my wish.

Gale rushes out from behind the bushes that me and Peeta were walking through just not too long ago. He has his hand-crafted bow and arrows in hand. He takes aim at Peeta, but this isn't what I wanted when I wished for Gale to protect me. "No! You can't hurt him!" I shout. Gale looks surprised that I still don't want Peeta hurt, after what he did to me, but he drops his aim. He throws his weapon on the ground and runs toward Peeta. I'm losing blood through a gash in my leg the rock caused, so what I shouted drained my energy. All I can do is watch as Gale and Peeta fight. Gale is strong, but Peeta is even stronger, and he easily breaks out of Gale's hold. Gale scrambles to get a grip on him again, but he fails. Peeta approaches me again, holding his hands in two fists. I close my eyes tightly, waiting for the final fatal blow to my head, but instead, I feel the pain course through my leg again. I open my eyes, too exhausted to cry out in pain, to see why it hurts again. I notice Gale has Peeta again, but he has stepped on my leg. My vision gets blurred on the edges, and I black out from the pain. I manage to see just one more blurry vision. Peeta is lying on the ground, facing me. His now black eyes are closed, and he's out cold. The world fades into darkness.

_I'm back in the meadow with my friends. However, this time, when I look down at my belly, it is no longer swollen with the presence of a baby. Then I notice Prim holding a beautiful baby across the meadow. "Is that- is that my baby?" I ask._

"_Yes, and perfectly healthy." I break out into a large grin._

"_Is it a boy or a girl?" I ask, curious because she is so far away from me, that I can't tell._

"_Nope, not telling," she replies with a grin._

"_So why am I here this time?" I address the whole group, dropping the subject of the baby I'm still having mixed feelings about._

"_Near death experience," Clove answers. My eyes widen in surprise. "You see that light over there?" I look at the horizon and see a light. I nod my head. "Avoid it."_

"_Good to know. Thanks," I say._

"_Hey, that's what friends are for." I smile when she says this._

"_You're going to wake up soon, by the way," Cinna says._

"_Already?" I whine. I like my time in the meadow with my friends._

"_Yes, Katniss, already," says my father._

"_Okay, bye then," I say to the group._

"_Bye," some answer. Others just wave. And just like that, I'm pulled back to the harsh reality where pain is felt and tears are able to fall._

I wake up in a white room. A hospital room. There are two chairs to the left of my bed, one of which is occupied. Gale is sitting and looking out the window behind the chairs. "Hey, Gale," I say tiredly. Just speaking makes my head pound. But from what? I wince in pain.

"Hey, sleepy head," Gale says with a smirk.

"What happened?" I ask, ignoring his pet name for me.

"Peeta threw that big rock on your leg, so it's fractured in three spots. They already healed the gash."

"Why does my head hurt so bad?"

"He regained consciousness after a bit, but he was still going through his episode. He got the rock when I wasn't looking and hit your head."

"Where am I, Gale?"

"Hospital in the Capitol. You're getting the best treatment."

"So how bad is it?" I question. I elaborate when he gives me a confused glance. "My head, I mean."

"Bad concussion and twelve stitches," he answers solemnly.

"Ouch," I say as I lay my head back down on the pillow.

"Does it hurt?" I can call the nurse to get you more morphling," he says in a rush. As much as I want to, I also remember how addictive it is and how hard it is to stop taking it. Then I snap back to reality and realize my head hurts bad, so I nod my head. He presses the CALL button and a nurse enters the room. He requests the medicine for me and she rushes to get it. After she injects the cool, numbing liquid into my IV, I begin talking again.

"Can you tell me one last thing?" I ask hopefully.

"Sure, Catnip, anything."

"Where's Peeta?" I see pain in Gale's eyes. He doesn't want to tell me for some reason. "It's okay you don't have to answer."

"No, it's okay. He's in his own hospital room right now. He told his nurse to make sure you got this." I take the hand-written note Gale was passing to me, and my heart sinks when I read it. I let one lonely tear fall on the already tear-stained paper, no doubt the salty liquid already on there came from the writer of this note himself. Gale wraps me in his arms, trying to comfort me. But the one person who can do that can't and won't right now. And he thinks it's all his fault.

**~A/N~ Sorry for the cliffy! Hoped you liked the violent chapter and sad ending! So I promised a fellow new writer I would suggest her stories. Her name is ****InsaneXBexX24****, and she has a couple amazing stories up. The titles are ****Seventh Quarter Quell****, which you need to read first, ****Panem's Victors****, which is the sequel and is still in progress, and her open SYOT, ****Death All Around****. I thought my readers might want to help her out and read her stories. She has 28 spots to fill for her SYOT, and you can enter up to 4 tributes. I submitted 4 already and even convinced my brother to submit one, so please give her a shot! I really enjoyed her stories, and I hope you all will too! **


	12. Chapter 12 Drugs and Decisions Don't Mix

Getting Past it All

**~A/N~ Thanks! ****Always448****, omg I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry! But it is pretty sad, I'll admit. ****InsaneXBexX24****, no problem! We'll get you more readers, reviewers, and tributes little by little! Honestly, I'm touched you're even reading my story…I know you don't like Katniss/Peeta stories. I'm glad I can make you happy! ****Mar9215****, my biggest fan you give me such a boost of confidence! You could turn into my best friend if you keep this up! The point is, by the way, to make you like Gale more. Something not typically seen in Katniss/Peeta fanfiction. I'm not leaving you hanging for long…here's the next update just hours later! ****HGFan1213****, yeah, I know, it's sad. The note is even sadder, I promise. Thank you to all of my wonderful readers and reviewers! And the PMs from InsaneXBexX24 and mar9215 put me in such a good mood that I decided to update pretty early! Thanks again and I love you all!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own THG, but I'm growing more confident with each review that maybe, just maybe, I could write a pretty good book someday. Thanks for the support!**

**Chapter 12: Peeta POV**

As I write the note in my hospital room, I silently cry. I can't believe this happened! But it won't. Not ever again. I promised to myself that I would always keep Katniss safe, and I broke that promise.

I look down at the note I just finished writing and re-read it.

_Dear Katniss,_

_For starters, I'm sorry. You will never understand how sorry I am for what happened. I feel terrible every second of the day, and every time I fall asleep, I see it happening all over again. I wish I could take it all back, rewind time and prevent it all, but I can't. And for that, I am sorry._

_I would also like you to know that I understand if you hate me. Hell, I even hate me right now. This is why I want you to be with Gale. He saved you from something that you should never be in danger of. Me. I can see now that he really loves you, Katniss, and I think you should give him a chance. It hurts me to say this because I still love you too, but that is why you need to do this. Not only for me, but for you and your own safety, too. It is what is best for you right now._

_I am getting prepped for my surgery today. The one I told about back in District 12. If it goes well, we can still be friends because I will be venom-free. I will visit you as soon as I can, Katniss. Just give what I said some thought, okay?_

_Love,_

_Peeta_

I look up from the tear stained paper and press the CALL button on my bed. A nurse with purple hair and green-tinted skin enters my room about a minute later. "Yes?" she says cheerfully with a smile plastered on her face. All this smiling while inside of me, my heart is crumbling.

"Can you give this to Ms. Katniss Everdeen for me please?" I ask, handing her the letter I had just finished folding into a neat, little square.

"Yes, I will see to this matter right away," she replies, seeing my watery eyes and giving me a sad smile. We're still the Capitol's favorite couple. As soon as the nurse leaves, I lie down and watch the television. There's just some stupid soap opera on, and right now, they're fighting over what they wear to a cocktail party. I roll my eyes as I hear a knock at the door. When I don't get up to answer, Haymitch opens the door himself, just like back at home.

"Peeta?" he says uncertainly.

"Yeah, it's me. What do you want?" Normally, I'd be thrilled to see Haymitch, but at the moment, I'm wallowing in my sadness. Haymitch notices, I can tell, but he doesn't press me with questions.

"What are you doing here? What happened?" he asks.

"I'm getting an experimental surgery done to remove the tracker jacker venom."

"Oh," he says, panic escaping his features. "Where's Katniss, then? Surely she didn't leave you here alone."

"She's in the hospital too. I'm not sure what room though," I say sadly.

"Katniss is in the hospital?" He can't see how much pain this subject is causing me. I sigh deeply and slowly nod my head. Then I mentally prepare myself for what I was about to do. I tell him what happened. Everything from the moment he caught us in the kitchen three days ago to the moment I folded up the note just moments before. By the end, I am sobbing, but I don't care. Haymitch has seen this before and has always been quick to comfort, just like now. "Hey, don't cry. I'm sure she still loves you," he says. But this time, the attempt to console me fails.

"Haymitch, I sent her a letter! I said she'd be better off with Gale! I even admitted that I thought she hated me, and you know how she is!" I exclaim. Then I grumble softly, "She'll hate me now for sure."

"Why would she choose Gale?" Haymitch yells, just quiet enough to not be heard from the hallway.

"Because he saved her life when I was the one endangering her!" I'm raising my voice at him again.

"Peeta, settle down! I know she still loves you! After all you've been through, you think she's going to act like nothing happened since her sister was reaped? Don't be foolish, boy! Even if she does end up going out with Gale, do you really think she'll be happy? Don't you think she'll miss you constantly?" He's right, but Gale treats her better. He's never tried to kill her, just kiss her. I tell him this. "You can't help you attacks, and she knows that. She defends you by saying you can't help it whenever Gale decides to bring it up. She'll forgive you," Haymitch says, exhausted from his long rant previously.

"I don't want forgiveness. If she just hated me and went with Gale to who-knows-where, she'd be a lot safer. That's what I truly want," I solemnly reply.

"There's just no reasoning with you!" he shouts again, seemingly regaining his energy from before. Then he stormed out of the room. The conversation with him has left me exhausted, so I fall asleep.

**Katniss POV**

"What does it say, Catnip?" Gale asks, still trying to comfort me. I'm done crying, but still numb from shock and sadness. He can sense this.

"He-he thinks I h-hate him," I hiccup. "He wants me t-to be with y-you instead." With each hiccup comes a pain in my head. I try to hide it, but Gale sees it and calls the nurse. She gets me medicine, and when she closes the door, our conversation continues. I notice this must be a stronger dose of medicine, because it leaves me slightly drowsy and my judgment clouded.

"I see," Gale provides a late response to my previous statement. I can see him trying to suppress a smile. Normally, I would yell at him, but that would only make my head hurt, even with the morphling running through my veins.

"I don't know what to do, Gale. I know I definitely don't hate him, I'm just a little, I don't know, angry, I guess." My head is swimming as I continue to try to make sentences that make sense. I'm not sure if this is a good conversation to have when I feel this way. I might make a wrong decision. I push these thoughts away, however, because I can only focus on one thing at a time right now.

"Well, you could always do what he wants you to do," he suggests, maybe a little too eagerly. I think about a life with Gale. Little Gales and Katnisses running around a large yard, probably in a more prosperous district, or even the Capitol. I smile at the thought and realize my children would definitely be safe there. _No, a life with Gale doesn't sound bad at all_, my drugged mind tries to tell me. I agree. On one condition.

"Would I get to be friends with him still? You know, Peeta?" I voice my one condition.

"Of course, Catnip, anything you want," he answers.

I give it one last thought before nodding my head. Gale responds with a huge smile on his face. "Okay, Gale, we can give this a shot," I say. "You did save my life after all." He leans in and softly locks his lips with mine. By now, the medicine has worked its magic, and I feel no pain anywhere on my body, so he doesn't hesitate to put his hand on the back of my head. I lean up and wrap my arms around his strong neck, deepening the kiss. I allow his tongue entry when it ever-so-gently brushes my lower lip, making me shudder. My tongue explores his mouth as his tongue dances around in my own mouth. Then, our tongues are wrestling as our lips move in perfect synchronicity with each other. It's weird, every other time he has kissed me, it seemed so forceful, but now, it feels so gent-

"What's up, Sweetheart?"

**~A/N~ Sorry, another cliffy! I know, you probably all hate me. I just wrote a make-out session between Katniss and Gale! I am disgusted too, but remember, Katniss' judgment is very clouded right now. Stupid medicine. So, how do you think the surgery's gonna go? And I think we're still looking for more tributes for InsaneXBexX24 and her amazing SYOT story! If you submit a tribute for her, PM me and I'll personally thank you! Thanks to mar9215 for submitting tributes for her story! Also, my friend will be writing her first story soon, so when that gets posted, I want you all to check it out! I'm sure it will be great! When it gets posted, I'll release the author and title. Hope you enjoyed the early update!**


	13. Chapter 13: Real Men

Getting Past it All

**~A/N~ At ****Lucille Adams****, thanks for sending in a tribute! It means a lot not only to me, but to InsaneXBexX24 and the readers who are patiently waiting for the spots to get filled. Thanks for your continued support from the beginning! ****Mar9215****, you are so awesome! It's supportive readers like you that keep us authors writing! Can't wait for your story! **** 15****, okay, I promise…maybe. I guess you'll have to read on to find out how long I go with Gale! ****InsaneXBexX24****, we're getting there with the tributes! Yay! Thanks, but you know, you're not too bad of a writer yourself! Just kidding, you're an amazing writer! I liked the Haymitch rant, too, and I almost spilled tears just writing the letter. ****Guest****, she will, eventually! And, finally, ****Alyssa****, yeah, okay, Peeta and Katniss can't stay apart forever. They're just too perfect for each other! So, on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I someday hope to write a book as good as the Hunger Games, but no matter what, I will never have the right to say I own the Hunger Games. Sorry.**

**Chapter 13: Katniss POV**

_Previously:_

"_What's up, sweetheart?"_

My heart leaps out of my chest as I hear the very familiar voice. I immediately pull away my interlocked lips from Gale's and look at the open door. Sure enough, it's Haymitch.

"Oh, uh, hey, Haymitch," I reply, awkwardly. "Not much."

"It looks like a whole lot of something from where I'm standing." He glares at Gale, willing him to leave with his vicious-looking eyes. Gale complies and leaves me alone with Haymitch in the hospital room. Haymitch now turns his attention to me. "Katniss, why?"

I knew I should have listened to my brain. It told me not to have that particular conversation with Gale when my mind was clouded with medicine. I knew in my mind that I would make a bad decision. And I was right. However, I can't admit I'm wrong in front of Haymitch, not without a good argument at least. "Peeta wants me to. If I choose Peeta, nobody is happy. If I choose Gale, everyone is happy. What's the obvious answer, Haymitch?" I decide to use what Peeta said in the letter as my argument.

"Do you really believe that?" he counters. I force my drugged head to think about his argument and decide that no, I don't believe that. But it's not Haymitch's decision what I do, so I nod my head defiantly. With that, Haymitch huffs and exits the room. I want to call out for Gale to come back, to console me and convince me that I did the right thing, but my head is still throbbing from the argument I had just participated in, so I just decide to rest for a while longer, even though I just woke up from a rather lengthy nap.

**Gale POV**

As much as I hate being around that man, I wanted to stay in the hospital room with Katniss, for Katniss, to comfort Katniss. But that glare could kill a man like a thousand daggers stabbed him in the heart, so I reluctantly left. Now, I am aimlessly wandering the corridors of the head trauma ward, trying to figure out what to do now. I decide to visit Baker Boy. Even though I'm more than happy to agree with him and replace him as Katniss' boyfriend, I still have to admit to feeling at least a little bad for him. _Especially_ after all I've done to the poor guy.

I stop at the help desk three doors away from room 525, Katniss' room. "Yes, sir, what can I do for you?" asks the orange-skinned, blue-haired, overly cheerful and polite Capitol woman sitting behind the counter. The makeup on her face was overly excessive and the clothes, although the hospital attire is restricted to scrubs for employees, still manage to be outrageous, sporting a giant smiley face across the front and a giant frowning face across the back. The background of the shirt is a bright and loud orange, and both faces are a sickly green. The pants, leaving me wondering how this is supposed to look good together, are a checked red and mauve pattern. I silently scoff at her choice of clothing.

"Uh, yeah, can you tell me where Mr. Peeta Mellark's room would be situated?" I ask, trying to match her tone of politeness. After typing a couple things on her…computer, I think it's called?...her face lights up, indicating she has found what she is looking for.

"It's up on the third floor in the mental operation ward. Room 327."

"Thank you very much," I say with a nod, as I hurry towards the elevator, away from the Capitol freaks as fast as I can. I press the down button and wait for the elevator to arrive. I begin to hear the noises in the elevator shaft, warning me of the elevator's approach. When the doors slide open, I am faced with and empty elevator, thankfully, and I step inside. I push the button marked with a tiny three and wait silently as the elevator smoothly glides between floors. However, it stops on the fourth floor and picks up an unwanted guest. Haymitch. Wow, I must have been trying to figure out what to do a lot longer than it really felt like. He glares daggers at me the whole time, and when I leave on the third floor, he follows me, testing my patience. My anger finally rises to a dangerous level. "What the hell do you want with me?" I shout.

"I want you to stay away from her. I want you to stay away from him. Neither of them knows what they really want, and I don't think you realize how wrong it is to try and seduce a drugged up girl."

"You're not her dad. You need to give the girl some freedom," I growl menacingly.

"Good luck with that." With that, he stalks off, leaving me alone once again. I continue towards my destination, Baker Boy's room, until I finally approach the mental operation ward. I wander the hall until I find his room number, 534. Just as I raise my fist to knock on the door, it opens, and another Capitol woman is on the other side, wearing distasteful clothing, as to be expected.

"Were you here to visit with Mr. Mellark?" she asks.

"Yes, please," I say, forcing out the last word.

"Go right ahead." She steps through the doorway and I enter the room.

"Uh, hey," I say awkwardly. Baker Bo- I mean Peeta- turns his head to see his visitor, and his face registers shock.

"Not to be mean, but why are you here?" he asks politely. God damn, he is just too nice.

"I want to say…well, I want to say I'm sorry.

"Um, for what, exactly? You saved her from me."

"For everything else. The lies, the kissing, everything. I'm sorry."

Peeta nods his forgiveness. "Does Katniss want to be with you or…" he trails off, obviously not wanting to voice the rest of his thoughts.

"I really don't know. She said she'll give me a shot, but I never know what's going on in that head of hers." Peeta easily laughs a little at that, easing the tension. I see why Katniss likes him so much. I decide to change the subject. "So what is this surgery for anyway?"

"It's experimental, but I could possibly get all of the venom removed." I'm actually surprised that he wants me to be with Katniss if he's not going to be a threat to her anymore.

"Why do you want her to be with me then?" I ask.

"I don't really know. You just seem…better for her," he says sadly. Damn, why does he have to be so gosh darn nice all the time? I can't even help liking him.

"You know what? Take her. She's all yours," I offer.

"Really?" His face lights up like a Christmas tree.

"Yeah, sure, just one condition."

"What is that?"

"Send me an invitation to the wedding."

**~A/N~ hoped you like it! Everyone, please send a tribute to ****InsaneXBexX24**** for her SYOT! It would help a lot! Also, make sure to read her stories! They're great! I have a new fellow author friend, too! She just posted her first chapter tonight, and I want a lot of support for her! Her name is ****mar9215****, and I promised her I would help her get some readers. So let's all give her the support that you give me and give our new author some confidence!**


	14. Chapter 14: Surprise Visit

Getting Past it All

**~A/N~ ****mar9215****, yeah, I kind of wanted this story to be a little different, you know, so Gale isn't such a bad guy later on. And no problem for the shout out! I hope it helped! ****HGFan1213****, thanks for the support! I like the stories where Gale isn't the worst, so that's how I made mine. ****InsaneXBexX24****, haha, yeah, somewhere beneath the drunk exterior, Haymitch is pretty fatherly. And no problem for the shout outs and reading your other story! It was really good! ****Guest****, thanks! ****Lucille Adams****, I know, me too! ****EBRAJERCECullen 130****, will do! And thanks to all my new followers and favorites! Now, the story!**

**Disclaimer: Suzanne owns the Hunger Games, I own this fanfiction. Huge difference.**

**Chapter 14: Katniss POV**

Gale wakes me up from my dreamless slumber. He looks happy, and I assume it's because I have chosen him over Peeta finally. Now that my drugs have worn off, I see the horribleness of the situation. I really need to fix things before me and Gale get too serious. I shrug off my thoughts so I can ask Gale why he is so happy. "What's up with you?" I say.

"I had a talk with Peeta while you were napping."

"And since when does that make you happy, exactly?" I ask suspiciously.

"Well, I apologized for everything I've ever done to him, so it's a pretty big load off of my chest," he says. I can tell there's more he wants to say. I wait for him to continue. "And he seemed pretty upset that I was with you, so I gave you back to him," he says nonchalantly, like it's an everyday thing.

"Wait, you _what_?" I prod.

"I'm breaking up with you so you can be with whoever makes you happiest."

I pause, trying to process everything. "Thank you so much, Gale!" I finally reply. I try to get up so I can go see Peeta.

"Whoa, there, eager much?" Gale jokes. "Look, you're still hooked up to the IV machine. Why don't you just ask for his phone number?" I nod my assent for the much more sensible plan and press the CALL button. A nurse walks in a moment later and asks me what I would like.

"Can I have Mr. Peeta Mellark's phone number?" I quickly reply.

Noticing my excitement, the nurse rushes to say, "Sure thing, it'll be just a couple minutes," and hurries out of the room. Sure enough, a couple minutes later, she returns with a slip of paper with a number on it. "Here you are," she says as she hands it to me. "Anything else?" I shake my head vigorously and she leaves the room once again.

"Call him," I order Gale. When he glares at me, I notice my rudeness. "Please?" I add. He follows my orders. He walks over to a little table where a phone is situated. He dials the number, and after a few seconds, I hear the voice on the other line that never fails to comfort me.

"Hey, Peeta. It's Gale." He pauses while I hear Peeta's voice mumble. "Katniss wants to talk to you." Pause. "Yeah, she practically jumped out of bed to see you." I blush before Gale says, "Yeah, here she is," and hands the phone to me.

"Peeta?" I say into the phone.

"Hey, Katniss," says an angelic voice that could only belong to one person.

"Peeta!" I exclaim. "When is your surgery?"

"In a couple hours. Why?"

"No reason. I was just curious," I lie. "Did you really think I'd hate you?"

His tone saddens when he speaks again. "A little. I know I can't forgive myself, so I know better than to expect you to."

"But I do, completely."

"You-you do?" he asks, sounding very bewildered.

"Yes, of course I do! Why wouldn't I, Peeta?" I ask. "I have to go now, but visit me soon, okay?"

"As soon as I can, my love. Good bye, Katniss. I love you."

"I love you too, Peeta." He hangs up and I do the same.

When I hand the receiver back to Gale, I notice him looking at me strangely. "What?" I ask.

"What are you planning?"

I smile slyly. "I am going to arrange for me to be the first one he sees when he wakes up," I answer. "What did Peeta say when you talked to him?"

"When he answered, I said 'Hey Peeta, it's Gale' and then-"

"No, I mean when you told him about me jumping out of bed," I say, blushing and laughing. Gale laughs at me.

"Oh, why didn't you just say so?" he says. "Well, he asked if you were really that eager to see him since you wanted to talk to him. That's when I told him you practically jumped out of bed to see him. Then he said, and I quote, 'She's there, right? Let me talk to her right now!'" I laugh at Peeta's enthusiasm, very similar to my own. "So are you going to arrange the meeting?" he asks. I nod and press the CALL button once again.

"Yes, Ms. Everdeen?" the nurse from before asks when she enters my room.

"I have a favor to ask of you," I reply sneakily.

"Okay?" she says questioningly, cocking her head.

"Do you know my fiancé, Mr. Peeta Mellark?" She nods her head quickly and her face lights up at the name. Yep. We're still the Capitol's favorite couple. "Well, he's having an experimental surgery today, and I want to be the one that he wakes up to. However, he can't see me there before he falls asleep. It has to be a complete surprise," I finish explaining my plan.

"I'm sure I can have that arranged for the Capitol's one and only star-crossed couple," she replies dreamily. I roll my eyes before continuing.

"Great! When will you come back for me?" The nurse picks up a device and taps a couple of spots on it. I look over at Gale, hoping he'll be able to enlighten me on this technology. _Portable computer_, he mouths. I cock my head, wanting more of an explanation. _I'll explain later_, he replies. I nod. "Well, it looks like he's getting the surgery started in two hours and fifteen minutes, so I can come back for you in two hours, okay?"

"Sounds good to me. Thanks!" The nurse turns and leaves the room again. "So, what was she doing on the computer?" The last word that comes out of my mouth sounds funny.

"She looked up Peeta's surgery time." I nod, still not completely understanding computers. Silence follows the conversation, something that has never bothered me or Gale.

"So, did he propose to you yet?" Gale asks, breaking the stillness of the room. The question catches me by surprise.

"Uh, yeah, he did."

"Where's your ring, then?" he says, looking down at my hand. I start to panic when I look where Gale is and notice my ring-ridden finger. "Katniss, calm down. Just think." I think backwards. Did I have it by the lake? I pull up a memory of taking off my shirt and seeing my hand. No, it's not there. When I hunted that morning? This memory is one of me pulling back an arrow. I see the sun glistening off of the pearl in the middle of the ring on my ring finger of my right hand as I hold my bow. I got home after I walked through the hot sunlight beating down on my back. I'd wanted to swim later, with the heat of the hot sun, so when I redressed at my house, I took off my ring and put it on my dresser so it wouldn't get lost in the lake.

I snap out of my memory. "It's on the dresser," I murmur. I let out a breath I didn't even realize I was holding. Oh, thank God, I didn't lose it.

"You didn't lose it?" I shake my head. Ouch. That hurt my head. I wince. "Don't you want any medicine?"

"No, don't you remember how hard it is to kick that stuff?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'll just go to sleep. Again," I say exasperatedly.

"Okay, have a good nap," he says, standing up and walking towards where my bed stands. He brushes my hair aside when he stops at the end of my bed where my head lies and kisses my cheek gently. Not as a lover, not as a boyfriend. As family, like a brother. When he walks away, my eyes flutter closed and I drift off.

**~A/N~ Sorry, it's a little short. I want you all to remember to submit a tribute to **_**InsaneXBexX24 **_**for her story, ****Death All Around****. Only 10 spots left! I also recommend that you read the two prequels, too, as it explains a lot. Those two stories are called ****Seventh Quarter Quell**** (the first one) and ****Panem's Victors**** (the second one). They are both really good stories, along with her Glimmer and Marvel one-shot, ****My Golden Rod****. Also, my other friend, **_**mar9215**_**, has a new story up, and it's called ****Payback at Last: The Last Hunger Game****. It only has one chapter right now, but with additional support, like what I have, there will be more chapters soon! Thanks for reading!**


	15. Chapter 15: Asleep

Getting Past it All

**~A/N~ Lots of thanks today! ****InsaneXBexX24****, aww, sweetest review I ever read! I can't believe my Katniss/Peeta story can make a non-Katniss/Peeta reader so happy! And of course I'll continue to recommend your stories…they're so awesome! ****HGFan1213****, sorry, no promises! You'll see in this chapter! ****Brendartf13****, wow! Three reviews?! I'm glad you like my story so much! I'm not sure how much more of the dreams I'm going to do, but I'm planning at least one more. Thanks for reading! ****EBRAJERCECullen 130****, glad you loved it! ****Kidfreak****, don't worry, I'm not asking you to review every single chapter. Just enjoy the story! And you seriously read all 14 chapters in like an hour?! Wow, I'm flattered! ****Kelliejo19****, thanks! And it looks like you are just as crazy for the movie as I am! ****LoveHungerGamesJH****, thanks for reading! Thanks everyone who reviewed, followed, or added this story to their favorites!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own THG, just the plot for this fanfiction.**

**Chapter 15: Peeta POV**

I hang up the phone with Katniss, overwhelmed with happiness at the fact that Katniss has forgiven the unforgiveable. That, mixed with the happiness from my talk with Gale, makes me confident that this surgery will go well and I'll get to live a happy life with Katniss as my wife and Gale as my friend for the rest of my life. I lull myself to sleep with plans for a happy future.

…

I wake up to a nurse repeating my name and telling me it's time to prep me for surgery. My bed is rolled to a bigger room, which I suspect is the operating room. My nerves start to get to me when I see the operating tools, but I remind myself to stay strong and that I have to go through with this for Katniss. I'm just starting to relax when a few white-clothed Capitol surgeons enter the room. They are all wearing masks over their faces. There are three males and one female. She is holding a tube connected to a machine. When she approaches me, the tube's openings in the middle fit into the nostrils of my nose. "What's this for?" I ask.

"This just helps you breathe normally during the procedure," she answers. I nod before she continues to introduce herself and her fellow co-workers. "I am Dr. Fay, this is Dr. Williams," she says pointing to one of the men. "This is Dr. Loo, and Dr. Aurelius," she finishes, pointing to a familiar looking man.

Confusion hits me. "Dr. Aurelius is a psychiatrist in District 13, not a-" I say.

"He's viewing your operation to make sure all goes well. And we have given him a job here in the Capitol. He is known for helping you in therapy."

"I see."

"Are you ready, Peeta?" asks Dr. Aurelius.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I say shakily.

"You'll be fine, Mr. Mellark," reassures Dr. Williams.

"You are under the best care," says Dr. Loo

"Okay, let's do this then," I say. Dr. Fay grabs a needleless syringe off of the sterile table with her gloved hand and injects it into my IV tube leading go my arm. I feel the cold liquid seep into my arm and spread through my veins. My eyes start to droop as I start to feel very sleepy. Within thirty seconds, I lose consciousness.

**Katniss POV**

"Ms. Everdeen," says the nurse, waking me up from my slumber. My eyes open, and, as I glance to the left, I see Gale, also sleeping. My head turns the nurse who has awoken me. "It's time for you to go. He has been put under," she explains. I nod my head in agreement. She helps me up into a standing position and asks if I can walk fine. I have a limp from my broken leg, but the miniscule dosage of morphling the nurse gives me is a quick fix for that. It does wonders, not only for the leg, but the pain in my head, too. I walk over to Gale and gently wake him.

"Gale," I say softly.

"Hmm?" he mumbles sleepily.

"I have to go now. Do you want to wait for me here or do you want to see him after me?"

He thinks for a while. "I should just stay here. This is your alone time with him." I smile gratefully and hug him good bye.

The nurse leads me out of the room to the operating room. I am made to wait in the viewing area, and when the operation is done, I am to wait for him to him to wake up, me by his side. I watch the surgery for a while, watching his heart rate meter go through he normal peaks and valleys to signify his healthy beating heart. Then, it goes flat. I panic as the doctors below try to revive him. It's all I can do not to run in there and hold him, try to revive him. Thankfully, I don't, because seven minutes of hell later, he has a heartbeat again. However, this doesn't mean I'm not a crying mess. I try to recompose myself so that when I get to see Peeta, he doesn't get too worried. _He's fine_, I tell myself. _Look, he has a heartbeat again. Nothing is going to happen. _

By the time the surgeons are done, I am as close to normal as I'm going to get. I allow myself into the large room and go over to stand by Peeta. I wait for his eyes to open, but the longer I wait, the more unsure I am that they will. I wait for minutes, but as the minutes turn into an hour, Dr. Aurelius tells me that Peeta will go back to his room and hopefully he will soon awaken. He is just in an anesthetic-induced coma, he tells me. As a nurse rolls his bed back to his room, I turn to follow, but Dr. Aurelius stops me.

"You need to go back to your room, Katniss," he explains. I viciously shake my head, refusing to accept this

"No, I need to be there when he wakes up!" I shout, on the edge of hysterics.

"Very well, then, but you leave in the morning," he says, seeing no point of arguing his case any farther with me. I nod as Dr. Aurelius leads me out of the large operating room, down the winding, narrow hallways, and eventually to the door of Peeta's hospital room, all at a leisurely pace because of my broken leg.

"Thank you, doctor. I promise, I'll go without a fight in the morning." He leaves. I slowly open the door to see my Peeta, still unconscious. Tears leak out of my eyes as I remember what he made me promise him. _You need to be happy with someone, anyone else. Maybe Gale, maybe someone else, I don't care, Katniss. You know the last thing I would want is for you to let my death take control of your life._ I should never have promised, but I hadn't wanted to believe that anything would or could really happen to him. But now I'm forced to believe it. So what do I do if he never comes back to me? Could I be happy with Gale? A couple of weeks ago, I would have said no, but he's really matured since I was put in the hospital. No! What am I saying? Peeta will come back! He has to! My body is wracking with sobs as I slowly approach the sleeping boy. I lean down and ever so gently press my lips against his forehead, then to the tip of his nose, and finally reach my destination. My heart breaks when I feel no one kissing me back. All I feel is a lifeless pair of lips beneath mine. As I cry more silent tears, I wrap Peeta in a tight embrace and cry into his chest. When my eyes are finally dried up, I'm left exhausted by the despair. I tuck in Peeta, kiss his forehead lightly, and whisper, "I love you," in his ear. I pull my IV with me towards the recliner in his room and settle in for the night, trying to mentally prepare myself for the nightmares that are sure to visit me tonight.

**~A/N~ Sorry, I don't know how to let the couple stay happy for long! Okay, I know most of you are getting sick of me saying it, but please, please, PLEASE send in some tributes for InsaneXBexX24 for her SYOT story, Death All Around. And if you send a tribute, PM me and I'll give you a special shout-out in my story next chapter! Only 9 more spots left, and her other stories are great, too! If you want to see a tribute list, check out Chapter 3 of Death All Around. Also, the trivia questions for sponsor points are up! Also, my other friend, mar9215, has a great story up, too! It's called Payback At Last: The Final Hunger Game. Go check it out, please, for me? Happy reading! **


	16. Chapter 16: Passion

Getting Past it All

**~A/N~ ****Mrs. Mellark15****, thanks! ****Guest****, haha, okay! ****InsaneXBexX24****, once again, no problem for the shout outs! I want your story to be perfect for you! You're welcome for the chapter and have fun on your vacation! There'll be plenty of chapters when you get back! Thanks for the long review! ****Brendartf13****, you're welcome! I shout out everybody! I'm thinking it's going to be a rather long story. I want to get through the wedding and both pregnancies so maybe, I don't know, a lot more chapters! ****Mar9215****, twinsie, thanks for the reviews! I already explained Gale's weird attitude to you, so I don't need to say that again, and thanks for the praise! Lastly, ****EBRAJERCECullen 130****, thank you! Now, to the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games.**

**Chapter 16: Katniss POV**

Sure enough, I wake up more than once over the long, dreadful night. The dreams got worse and worse, and each time I woke up, I was smacked with the realization that, right now, my life is a living nightmare.

When I wake up from my latest dream, the worst yet, I realize it's finally morning. I dreamt I was forced into marrying Gale after Peeta had died, and he abused me. Every night, I went to bed, bloodied and bruised and littered with broken bones. I had no one to turn to with Peeta's absence, and I was left alone and desolate. A hollow shell of myself. When Gale forced himself on me and made me bring his children into this cruel world, my kids had to see him abuse me. I just about screamed when the next pregnancy test read positive, but I woke up in time to save myself the horror. I am breathing hard now, and sweating. Upon further inspection, I notice my cheeks are moist with fresh tears.

I force myself to wash my horrid-looking face and comb my knotted hair before I walk to where Peeta still rests peacefully, not having to live with another's possible death. Here goes my last chance. I lean over and kiss him on his lips. Nothing. I begin crying mutely as I talk against Peeta's chest. "Peeta, you have to come back to me," I say into his lifeless body. "I can't live without you. I love you," I finish nearly silently.

"I love you, too," says a voice, so quiet, I'm not sure if I really heard it or if I just imagined it. But, sure enough, the touch I have been longing returns to me as he runs his hand through my kempt hair. My eyes fling open as the proof that he didn't leave me hits me. I pull my face from where it still lies on Peeta's chest, but this time, instead of seeing an unmoving body and closed eyes, I see his lips pulled up into a smile and his beautiful blue eyes looking back at me with the same smile his mouth wears.

"P-Peeta?" I ask, dumbfounded. "You're alive!"

"Well, of course I am," he says confused. "Why wouldn't I be?" His hand is still tangled in my hair, so he uses his other hand to brush a stray tear off of my cheek.

"Your operation was yesterday at about five in the evening, and it ended at about five forty-five, maybe six. It is now eight o' clock, fourteen hours later, and you're going to act like that's normal?" He glances at the clock and his eyes grow wide with surprise.

"Wow, I'm sorry, Katniss. That must have been the hardest night ever. I couldn't even be there for you, either."

I put my finger over his lips to silence him. "Shh, I'm fine, see?" I reassure him. He slowly nods, but he doesn't look very convinced. I put on the biggest smile I can muster up, and his worried and stressed face relaxes a bit.

I hear a soft knocking at the door. I leave Peeta's arms to go answer it. It's Gale. "Hey," he says. "Where have you been?" His face softens when he notices my red, puffy eyes.

"I'll tell you later. I have to leave here soon, anyway. I promised the doctors I would," I say, not ready to explain the hell I've been through for the last fourteen hours.

"Okay, I'll meet you up in your room, then."

"No, you won't." Gale looks confused, so I elaborate. "I don't know my way back. Just wait for me." He nods and sits in the recliner I slept in last night. I let him have it so I don't remind myself of the nightmares, especially the last one. I shudder and go back to Peeta's waiting and welcoming arms. "So, how do you feel?"

"Happy."

"Why? After I just explained everything, you're still happy? As if nothing ever happened?"

"Yeah, because you're here," he responds.

I laugh a little, blushing, and say, "No, seriously. Are you tired, hungry, bored?"

"I guess I'm a little bored," he admits.

"What do you want to do, then?"

"This." He leans up and locks his lips with mine. I feel the sparks I have been missing ever since he went into surgery fly and forget about everything and everyone but Peeta. I try to be gentle so I don't hurt the head that just went through operation, so instead of running my fingers through his soft, golden blonde locks, my hands land on his chest instead. His are wrapped around my back and neck. His tongue asks permission to enter, and I immediately and happily agree. Our tongues dance together and explore each other's mouths. A moan involuntarily escapes my lips, but then I snap back to the hospital room. I pull back quickly and look around. I see a wide-eyed Gale staring at us, jaw dropped, and I blush in embarrassment. I turn back to Peeta, who has an amused expression on his face. He looks rather pleased that he has that effect on me, that he can make me moan like that.

"Wow. Best kiss ever," he says, dazed. My blush deepens, and I mentally scold myself for getting carried away in public.

"Are you ready to go, Gale?" I ask, slightly irritated with myself and just wanting to leave this situation behind. He can only nod, still shocked at what he just heard. "Good bye, Peeta," I say quietly, and lean over to give him a quick kiss on his forehead.

"Bye, Katniss, Gale," he says. Gale gives a half-hearted wave as we step out of the room. All is silent as we walk down the corridors. When we step into the empty elevator, he finally breaks the awkward silence with laughter; suppressed snickers, he has been holding in since we left Peeta's room.

"What?" I say, annoyed.

"You were just getting so into it! If we weren't in a hospital, you would have probably-"

"Don't even say it, Hawthorne," I say, fuming. "That wouldn't have happened, and you know it. After all, I still have my self-respect." The elevator gratefully opens, interrupting the argument, and I hurry out, not caring where I'm going. Gale runs after me as I walk as fast as I can with an IV pump attached to me, most likely in the wrong direction. He unsurprisingly catches me by the arm and turns me to face him. I look away from his face, and he grabs my chin and forces me to look at him. I struggle stubbornly.

"I'm sorry, Katniss. I didn't mean it."

"Fine," I growl. I let Gale lead me back towards the elevator and down another hallway until I see my room number. I yank open my door and collapse on the bed. My leg is extremely sore from all the walking, and I haven't had any pain medications since yesterday when I left for the operating room. My head is swimming, too. Pain now shoots through it at the slightest movement, and even when I keep it still, it throbs uncontrollably. Gale notices and presses the CALL button without my consent, but I am in too much pain to argue. The nurse comes in, and Gale tells her that I need morphling. I don't acknowledge her presence when she walks over to me, and instead, I savor the cool numbness that washes over me as the cold liquid flowing through my veins relieves me of my pain. I fall asleep after a while of battling rest inside my head.

…

I wake up at about 3:20 to a growling stomach. "Are you hungry?" asks Gale. I'm still angry with him for suggesting that I would…you know…with Peeta this morning, so I only nod. He ignores my irritated mood and goes to my bedside table. There is a tray there that he picks up and sets on my lap.

"Thanks," I mumble, and he sits back in his chair. I pull the lid off of the food to see what it is. I have chicken noodle soup, a piece of bread, some cheese for the bread, and a muffin. To drink, I get a brown, hot liquid I recognize as hot chocolate from the train to the Games. I force myself to not let my ravenous appetite get the best of me as I eat my lunch. When I'm done, Gale takes the tray and places it back on the table he takes his seat on the chair again. I try to ignore both my pain and the endless desire for more morphling. I even resist the urge to ask the nurse for some when she comes to check my vitals. For a distraction, I turn on the television provided in my room and attempt to tune myself out to the world and the pain.

**~A/N~ Hope you liked it! A rather uneventful chapter, it feels good to settle down with the pain and misery for a while. So, InsaneXBexX24 has now gotten in all tributes! And in celebration of both of her reaping chapters put up, I will be posting one chapter tomorrow, Monday, and Tuesday! Unless I get busy, of course, but I'll try my hardest! Thanks to everyone who submitted a tribute! mar9215 has a story up, too, called ****Payback at Last: the Last Hunger Game****, so please check that out for me. We need more reviews for that story! I'll see you tomorrow! Ciao!**


	17. Chapter 17: Leaving

Getting Past it All

**~A/N~ Now time for the thank yous! ****InsaneXBexX24****, yeah, the dream even scared me. And it may have given me a new story idea ;). Can't wait for you to get back from your vacation so you can read all the new chapters and you can post more of yours again! ****twinsie****, I can never expect anything but praise from you, can I? You're super awesome! ****Brendartf13****, I'll be glad to write every one of those chapters too! ****Mrs. Mellark 15****, thanks! **

**So, InsaneXBexX24, here's part one of your welcome home gift! Hope your vacation is going awesome and I can't wait to read more of your story when you get back!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games or any of the characters mentioned in this story. Now, disclaimer, please stop harassing me!**

**Chapter 17: Katniss POV**

When a recap on the second rebellion appears on the screen, I can no longer force my attention to stay towards the television. I shut it off, turning on a wave of pain in my head, now that there is nothing to distract me from it. I moan in discomfort.

"That bad, huh?" says a voice at the door.

My eyes light up. "Peeta!" I say, smiling. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, you left so quickly this morning that I just had to see you again!" he says "How are you?"

"Fine," I lie, without success.

"You didn't sound fine." He walks over to me and tenderly kisses my forehead. "I'll get you some medicine."

"No, don't! I'm fine," I say, shaking my head frantically. I wince at the pain the movement causes through my head. I try to hide it, but I'm too late. He notices the tiny movement that passes through my body, the tell-tale sign of not being fine. He proceeds to walk into the hall. When one of the nurses catches sight of him walking out of my room, she gushes over how "lucky they are" to have the "star-crossed lovers of Panem" in their hospital. I roll my eyes as Peeta ignores her rant and continues to ask for what he got her attention for in the first place, my medicine. She comes in with a syringe and I glare at Peeta, not having the energy to speak.

"Katniss," he says, once the nurse leaves, leaving my body basking in the numbness, unwanted and welcoming at the same time.

"What?" I ask, still angry with him. He knows how much I despise having to depend on the morphling.

"I'm getting discharged tomorrow."

I forget all anger from just seconds before and beam at him. My lips pull into a wide grin that reaches me eyes. My Peeta is finally free from the Capitol's reach, without any more complications. "When am I allowed to leave?" I let my curiosity get the best of me.

"Few more days at the most. Not too long now. Don't worry, I'll be with you."

"I know you will." He comes over to my bed and leans over me. He gives me a sweet, short departing kiss.

"I have to go now, Katniss." I reward his statement with a pout. "Just until tomorrow, I promise. Then me and Gale can stay in here with you."

"Uh, actually…" Gale finally decides to speak up after watching our conversation. My head snaps toward him, willing him to continue. "I'm going to leave." I now notice his suitcases are packed with clothes that were previously in my room's single closet.

"What? Why?" I demand.

"I'm going to District 2. I've landed a pretty fancy job there."

"Well, you'll come back, right?" when he looks down at the ground, I know this is not true. While tears threaten to spill over the edges of my eyes, making my eyes water, Peeta holds me tight in his protective grasp.

"You have to come for the wedding, Gale," Peeta says. I realize I don't know what he's talking about. Peeta must see this, because he continues, facing me this time. "Gale said I could have you if he gets invited to the wedding," he quickly explains. Anger begins to bubble up inside of me.

"Why did you ask to come to the wedding if you knew you were going to leave?" I shout, angry now. Peeta holds me tighter, silently telling me to calm down.

"I just got offered the job this morning. I packed while you watched the television, but you must not have noticed. President Paylor gave me a job in two, and I'm supposed to start soon." When Gale sees that I'm still mad, he tries to think of a reason to justify his decision. He finds one quickly. "I don't think I can be trusted around you anyway, Katniss. To be honest, I still love you, a lot in fact, and I don't want to mess things up for you."

My rage begins to ebb at his new explanation as I realize what he is saying is true, what he really believes. I have to respect that he's not lying to me, that he's being completely honest with me. I try to calm down. "When are you leaving then, Gale?" I dare to ask.

"Tonight. After you fall asleep, of course, but tonight," he states. "But Peeta will be here for you tomorrow, after he's discharged."

"That soon?" I frown, and the threatening tears slowly start to leak out of the corners of my eyes. Peeta holds me tighter, pressing my face against his warm chest. My tears are no doubt staining his hospital gown.

"Gale nods before continuing. "I'm sorry I have to do this to you, Katniss, but we can still write. It'll be okay, you'll see." I nod, trying to convince myself more than I'm trying to convince Gale that I'm alright.

"Katniss, I'm going to leave. You need to spend some time with him before he leaves," Peeta suggests. I nod once again, too heartbroken for words to escape my lips. He holds me for another minute or so, then pulls away. He leans over to land one soft, small kiss on my forehead. He walks to the door of my room and disappears into the hallway with a departing wave of his hand.

"So what are you doing in District 2?" I ask after my eyes dry up.

"Government. I thought I already said that," he says.

"No, specifically. What kind of government job did you get?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you, Katniss." I cock my head to show my confusion. "I'll send a letter to your house when I arrive in Two, okay?"

I nod my answer. "Okay. Fine," accompanies the movement of my head.

"Look, I really am sorry."

I sigh. "I know you are, Gale." I stare into space.

"What are you thinking about?" Gale breaks me from my trance.

"How do you two always know?" I ask.

"Know what, exactly?"

I pause for a minute. "You know when something is bothering me. Every time."

He shrugs his shoulders in response. "Just tell me what's wrong, please?"

I sigh again, defeated. Gale is just as stubborn, maybe even more so, as me. "It's just, I don't know, I don't think I should be upset about you leaving if I'm perfectly happy with Peeta," I admit.

"And you feel guilty about it?"

"Uh-huh."

"Why, though?"

"Because, my stupid drugged up mind decided it would be okay to go out with you and make out with you while I was engaged!"

"So?"

"So what do you think Peeta will think when he finds out that I care if you are here or not?" I ask, getting frustrated.

"I think Peeta is a nice, caring guy who would believe you if you told him you don't still have feelings for me." I think about what he's saying as I attempt to calm myself down for what must be the third time today. A while later, I'm capable of holding a normal conversation again.

"You promise you'll write?" I ask, tears beginning to stream down my face again, staining my cheeks and hospital gown.

"Yes, Catnip, every day I will," he reassures gently.

"And please come to the wedding?"

"We'll see, but I don't think I should, really."

"So I'll never see you again?" I shout, letting my anger get the best of me again and my eyes letting angry tears relentlessly fall. "All those years of friendship and you're just going to leave because of some stupid job?"

"Katniss, you know it's not like that," he tries to console me.

"Then what is it like, because to me, it looks like you're going to leave me like everyone else!" I yell, not being able to bring myself to say the names.

"It's me saving your engagement with Peeta. I realize I should never have suggested going out with me after you read Peeta's letter, and I don't doubt it will happen again if I stick around much longer. I let my instincts and feelings for you take over too much." I can tell he is trying to keep from yelling himself, so instead of arguing further, I stay silent. I begin to feel drowsy again, and the last words I hear before I drift off are "I'm sorry, Katniss. I love you." Tears silently fall down my cheeks through closed eyes as I fall asleep.

**~A/N~ Hope you liked it, InsaneXBexX24! Hope everyone else liked it too! This was the last chapter in the boring, monotonous hospital, so no more bland white hallways and boring hospital rooms. Nope, we're going back to District 12! Now, I get to tell you to read other stories! ****Seventh Quarter Quell****, ****Panem's Victors****, ****Death All Around****, and ****My Golden Rod**** are all good stories by InsaneXBexX24. ****Payback at Last: The Last Hunger Game**** by mar9215 is pretty awesome too, so go check them out!**


	18. Chapter 18: Broken

Getting Past it All

**~A/N~ ****Twinsie****, thanks for the review! I hope you don't cry too much this chapter! ****Guest****, thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**Now, I have to explain something for you to completely understand this chapter. When Katniss was depressed about Prim in my story, she got over it WITHOUT a memory book. She just took time and eventually got through it. Also, this chapter is two weeks after they got out of the hospital. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games, or Katniss, or Peeta, or Gale, or Prim, or etc… Sigh.**

**Chapter 18: Peeta POV**

Katniss has been doing it again. Shutting herself out not only to me, but to everything and everyone. And it doesn't take a genius to figure out that she's not calling Dr. Aurelius for some much needed therapy, like I have been. Every time I urge her to call him, she leaves the room with a shake of her head. I have decided that postponing the wedding would be a great idea. She hasn't been wearing her ring. I saw it on her dresser one night, when I was trying to console her from a nightmare. She hasn't worn it since the night before the day we went swimming. Besides, we both need time to heal, her from Gale and me from my family. A week and a half ago, when our train finally arrived in District 12 from the hospital in the Capitol, Haymitch told me about what happened, since he came back early from the hospital. There was an accident at the bakery. Being one of the few buildings still standing after the bombing, I thought it was safe there. My family was killed in the explosion. It was an oven. Defective, the investigators say, but it just doesn't make since to me. I am upset, but Katniss has always come to me; her needs seem more important to me than my own, so I take care of her first.

When I found out what happened, I dialed Dr. Aurelius' number from the phone in my house. I moved back into my own house, just temporarily at least. I visit Katniss day to day, but she needs her own space, too. Dr. Aurelius was not surprised to hear my voice on the other line, since I don't ignore my need for therapy. We discussed what happened to my family. What strikes both me and him as strange is that I never once shed a single tear about it. I told him that I feel more…numbness than sadness. After I told him this, Dr. Aurelius concluded that I am possibly in shock about it still. That makes sense to me, so I just accept it as an explanation.

I reflect on what happened over the course of the day, a practice Dr. Aurelius told me to do. I call him every morning, like he told me to, and I tell him what happened the previous day. After I think about what happened today, I conclude it was the same as the past week. I checked on Katniss, as I do every day, but she looks like she isn't eating. Her ribs are starting to show now, reminding me of the poor Seam girl I tossed the bread to so long ago. I found a basket a couple of days ago, when I first noticed her weight loss, and lined it with napkins so it looked nice, a skill I learned from my years of helping out at the bakery. I baked many different foods, including cheese buns, sugar cookies, and muffins and placed them in the basket. I dropped it off yesterday, and she took it without complaint, but I saw it on her kitchen table today, filled to the same height as it was when I gave it to her, all the foods stale. I, myself, am making sure to continue to eat and shower, not letting myself get like her, but she has let her personal hygiene go. Her hair is a tangled, knotted mess and greasy, and she's been in the same clothes since she changed in the hospital out of the hospital gown. I tried getting her to change and shower, but she ignores my every attempt, acting as if I never even muttered a word.

I open my bedroom window when I'm done changing into a large, baggy t-shirt and flannel pants. Spring is finally approaching, ending the cool weather, and so is Katniss' birthday.

I lay down into bed for another dreamless night.

…

I wake up to the sound of screams, finding their way in my head through my open window. Lately, Prim hasn't been the subject of her dreams. It is usually about her losing Gale, but tonight, it is me. The nightmares aren't about Gale every night. Sometimes, it's about Rue, or Madge occasionally, but never about me. This is what causes me to hurry through my house, rummaging around for socks and shoes. I tug on my socks and double-knot my shoes before I fly out the door. I run to my neighboring house, Katniss' house, and enter in a frenzy. When I reach Katniss' bedroom at the top of the stairs, I fling the door open. Katniss is huddled in a corner, sobs replacing the screams I heard earlier. "Katniss, darling?" I say drowsily. Her sobs drown out my quietly spoken words, so I repeat myself, more loudly this time. She lifts her head from her knees to look at me.

The sight of her breaks my heart. She is obviously not taking care of herself. She is almost as skinny as the first week after her father died, her stomach no doubt showing her ribs under her shirt. Her hair, greasy and matted with knots, is damp with tears and sticking to her face.

"Peeta," she whispers, almost mutely. Her voice is scratchy from being unused for so long. A faint hint of a smile flashes across her lips before it disappears again. "I thought you were, were…" she trails off.

"Just take your time," I tell her.

"Dead," she finishes, barely even a whisper. "I thought you were dead."

"It's okay, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."

"What am I going to do, Peeta? I'm a mess!"

I ponder a while, trying to find a good way to put it without making her leave the room like she always does. "Will you please call Dr. Aurelius tomorrow? I think it will help you, really."

There is silence for a few moments before she answers with a shake of her head. Then she gets up from her position on the floor and walks to the bathroom. The door closes and I hear the unmistakable sound of a lock setting in place. I sigh in defeat and slowly make my way downstairs, I notice dawn is breaking when I exit the house and trudge back to my own. I rest for a while longer on the couch, exhausted.

…

"Please, Greasy Sae?" I plead.

"She won't listen to me any more than she will to you," she replies. When I woke up, I decided to ask none other than Katniss' previous housekeeper for some help.

"Isn't she at least worth a try? She recovered when she lost her father, she recovered when she lost Prim, she can recover now, with Gale gone from her life." She thinks about it for a while. "And someone needs to clean that house and make her eat," I add.

"Okay, fine. I'll do it, boy." I smile and thank her before leaving the Hob. I begin to make my way back home, but when I notice the large pile of ash, I realize I forgot to take the detour I took to get to the Hob. I slowly walk over to where my family's bakery used to stand. The stone foundation still exists, as well as the now blackened stone walls of the two neighboring buildings, which stand unscathed. My knees collapse when I approach the grey, dusty matter, and I fall to the ground. I feel the pitiful stares of passers-by on my back, but I ignore them. It doesn't make sense! We had been using those ovens for years and nothing ever happened! These thoughts leave me confused. The tears that have been held back from the shock finally come, drowning out my numbness and replaces it with a new feeling: sorrow.

**Katniss POV**

I wake up on the cold, tile floor of my bathroom. I shakily get to my feet and make my way to the door. I unlock it and step out. The time on my bedside clock says it's two in the afternoon. I hear rummaging downstairs, and I assume that Peeta is still here. Anger boils inside of me as I remember him trying to get me to call Dr. Aurelius again last night. He doesn't understand. He never lost anyone important to him. I walk down the steps so I can yell at him for being here. But it's not Peeta I see. "Greasy Sae?" I ask, but I don't hear anything come out of my mouth. I try again with success. She stops wiping off the counter and looks at me. "What are you doing here?"

"Someone told me that you were out of it again." She looks me over. "But, honestly, I've seen worse." I roll my eyes. "Why don't you go for a walk? It's a beautiful day outside," she suggests. I nod my head and walk to the door. I catch sight of my face in the mirror by the door, however, and decide to fix myself up a little. As I pass the coffee table in the living room on my way back to the staircase, I notice a large pile of envelopes sitting on it. I look at the letter on the top of the pile. The return address is Gale. I look at every letter in the pile, and they are all from Gale. All ten of them. I pick up the pile and take them to my room with me. Not wanting to face them anytime soon, I open my drawer and throw all the clothes out onto the floor. I shove the pile of letters into the far corner of the drawer and pile the clothes back in on top of them, unfolded. I decide to just stay in the clothes I'm in, too lazy to undress and redress. However, I do need to do something about this hair. I run my fingers through it once to assess the damage, and walk into my bathroom across the hall, where I woke up just before. I pull out a brush from the cupboard under the sink and begin to work through my hair. I find out just how out of shape I am when I can't even work my way through one knot before I tire myself. I pull open a drawer to find a pair of scissors, but I don't find any. I slowly exit the bathroom and make my way downstairs. When I go into the kitchen, I pull open a drawer and find the kitchen shears. This rewards me with a questioning glance from Greasy Sae, but I choose to ignore her curiosity. I slowly climb the stairs again, a task that is taking way more out of me than it should, and reenter the bathroom. I look into the mirror and see a girl I don't recognize there. One last glance before I attack my long hair with the shears. When I finally cut out every knot, my hair just barely reaches my shoulders in some places; in others, not even touching my ears. My hair is still greasy, but I decide to leave it, too much energy already drained out of me to do any more personal care than what I have done already. I walk back downstairs and out of the house without even saying good bye to Greasy Sae.

I walk down the path leading to the merchant area of town, receiving many curious glances from the citizens of District 12, probably because of the way I look. I ignore everything around me except for the warm sun, relaxing my muscles from the days of disuse. I walk through the Hob, where I used to trade meat, receiving greetings and waves, but I ignore everyone and everything. Everything until I see it. Until I see him. My stomach heaves at the horrible sight in front of me, and I begin to audibly shed tears.

**~A/N~ Whew! That was a long chapter! I know, very depressing. I'm sorry everybody! D: So, what do you think she sees? InsaneXBexX24, I hope you liked part two of your gift, and I'm looking forward to your homecoming! Only one more chapter to go for your present, though, and that, my loyal readers, will be posted tomorrow! Just one more departing remark: InsaneXBexX24 has some pretty amazing stories, 4 of them, to be exact; mar9215 has a really good story, too! Why don't you get check 'em out and show your love and appreciation for them and leave a review and favorite them and follow them? Thanks for reading!**


	19. Chapter 19: Day of the Dandelion

Getting Past it All

**~A/N~ Twinsie, sorry to be so depressing! It was completely necessary though haha! HGFan1213, I'll try to do more long chapters then! It's easier when the people don't feel like talking as much and then I can focus more on the environment around them and the actions. Guest, thanks for reviewing! Are you the same guest every time? I'm very curious!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games, although I deeply wish I did.**

**Chapter 19: Peeta POV**

I am still here, wallowing in my sorrow. Sorrow. Such a familiar and yet so alien feeling at the same time. I don't remember the last time I felt it. No, wait. Yes I do. It was when the realization dawned on me that I'd have to die in order for the girl I'd loved nearly my whole life to live. That was also the day when I learned I would never be able to tell Katniss I loved her, and even if I did, it wouldn't change the rules in the Games. Sorrow is what I felt when loved ones were lost if I died, I would lose my family and Katniss. Now, I feel sorrow for very much the same reasons. Because my family is gone, never to return, and Katniss is on the brink of sanity. My family, Mom, Dad, Rye, and Sesame, are all dead. Gone forever. I miss Sesame the most. He was my favorite family member. I could tell anything to him. Even what I couldn't tell Dad I could tell him. Now, I have no one. Except Haymitch, of course, but he doesn't exactly have the kind of comfort I'm looking for right now. I don't need sarcasm, I need love. This brings me back to longing for Katniss again. I sigh discontentedly as a noise brings me back from my thoughts.

Crying. Someone is crying. _Is it me?_ I wonder. I bring my hand up to touch my face. My eyes are now dry, but my cheeks are sticky with stale tears. I hear the noise again after I decide I'm not the one making the noise. It comes from behind me. I turn around and see her. "Katniss, what are you doing here?" I ask.

"Peeta! What happened?" she shouts hoarsely through her sobs. The girl that stands before me is unmistakably Katniss, with her bright silver eyes, brown, greasy hair, and the slightly plump lips my own lips form so well against as they melt together, but the long hair I have come to love, especially when it's down, loose from its braid, is gone. Her hair is short and uneven, as if she lobbed it off with a knife while half-asleep. I wonder for a moment if this is really what happened, but then I notice something. The knots, the ones that littered her hair just last night, are now gone and disappeared. When Katniss notices me looking her over instead of answering her question, she grunts and turns away, tears still leaking from her eyes.

"Katniss, don't go!" I hurry to my feet and run after her. It's no use, however. She's much faster than me. When I'm about to give up, she stops suddenly. I see her look at a spot on the ground, then falls to her knees there, in the middle of the patch of grass. Her hand darts out and picks up a yellow object from the ground. As I walk closer, I notice it is a dandelion. Confused, I approach her and try to read her emotions. I see sadness and grief, for sure. That is to be expected. The other emotions, however, are surprising to me. I see reminiscing, and longing, for better days, perhaps. She closes her eyes in thought. "A dandelion?" I can't stifle my curiosity. She stuffs the little plant into her pocket.

She looks at me with laughter in her now open eyes. They are moist with fresh tears, but they no longer fall. "It's a long story," is her only reply. I decide to urge her to elaborate further.

"I've got time. I have all the time in the world, Katniss."

"Maybe some other day," she says. I nod reluctantly.

"So, are you okay, Katniss?" I ask.

"What happened, Peeta?" she asks quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"The bakery! What happened to the bakery?" she responds, annoyed as usual.

"No-no one told you?" I stumble over my words, surprised. Then, I realize that no one would have told her. Not in the state she has been in.

"Told me what, Peeta?"

"It was an oven in the bakery. It exploded. Rumor is that it was defective, that it blew up one day when they were baking in there. The explosion came from the right spot, Katniss, but it doesn't make sense! We have been using those ovens for years!" My body wracks with sobs, but no tears fall from my eyes. They are all dried up now. "They're all gone, Katniss," I say quietly. She grabs my hand and pulls me down into the grass with her, forcing me to sit down next to her, our legs dangerously close to each other. She wraps me in her petite arms as she begins to cry again. I return the hug tightly to try to console her and to try to console me.

"Peeta, you should have told me! I was only ignoring you because I thought you didn't know what it felt like."

"What what felt like, Katniss?"

"Losing someone. Someone you love and can't imagine life without. That's how I feel about you." She says the last part quietly. The sobs continue to possess her body. "I'm sorry, Peeta."

"No, no. Don't be sorry. You couldn't have known. And by the way, Katniss, I feel like that about you, too," I say with what I hope is a grin. "Will you just please do one thing for me?"

"Depends," she warily replies, muffled by my chest, since she is still embracing me tightly.

"Call Dr. Aurelius. He can help. He helped me, just give him a try and trust me." She stays and thinks instead of running away this time, giving me hope.

"Okay, I'll do it. But only once. If it doesn't work, or if he makes me mad, I'm not doing it again," she finally replies, pulling away from the hug we were still in.

"I'm not expecting any more," I promise. I nod in assent in addition to the spoken words. I stand up and help Katniss back up. We walk back to the Victor's Village in silence, not daring to make any more contact between us. No holding hands, no hugs, and no kisses. Just silenced walking. She enters her house after taking the mysterious dandelion out of her pocket again, and I enter my own spacious house.

**Katniss POV**

When did a dandelion become so important to me? This is the first question that comes to my mind as I stop sprinting from Peeta and see the little yellow weed poking out from the soft lush grass. I collapse to the ground and pick the dandelion from the grassy patch. I close my eyes and ponder the question. I decide it was when I so desperately wanted to thank the boy with the bread that one day after school. I didn't even know his name, but he was kind enough to save not only my life, but Prim's life, too. I was going to thank him that day, but the unspoken words said between our eyes seemed to be enough for him. Our gaze was held a little longer than necessary, and I lost the nerves I was trying to build up to talk to him. When I looked down, I saw an identical yellow weed to the one I just picked up. This dandelion signifies Peeta's love for me, a love so undying that he fed me and my family, knowing he would get hit for it. The memory of the day of the dandelion pleases me, and my former bitter attitude that was showing through my actions is replaced by a pleasant and amused mood.

"A dandelion?" says a voice behind me. I smile half-heartedly at his curiosity and place the dandelion into my cramped pocket, hoping it will keep alive while we talk. He wouldn't understand ─ I never told him about that day. I never told him about the dandelion I found.

"It's a long story," I say, amused.

"I've got time. I have all the time in the world, Katniss," he says, urging me to tell him.

"Maybe some other day," I refuse. He hesitantly nods.

"So, are you okay, Katniss?" he asks me. His question doesn't make sense. His bakery is gone and he's asking _me_ if _I'm_ okay? What about him?

"What happened, Peeta?" I ask.

"What do you mean?" Why is he acting like nothing happened to him? It is beginning to bother me.

"The bakery! What happened to the bakery?"

"No-no one told you?"

"Told me what?"

"It was an oven in the bakery. It exploded. Rumor is that it was defective, that it blew up one day when they were baking in there. The explosion came from the right spot, Katniss, but it doesn't make sense! We have been using those ovens for years!" he says with confusion and despair clouding his eyes. His body is involuntarily wracking with sobs, but nothing exits his eyes. "They're all gone, Katniss," he finishes. All gone? Why didn't he tell me? I take his hand and force him to come down to my level. He gets the hint and sits down beside me. I pull my legs out from underneath me and stretch them out in front of me, inches away from Peeta's legs. I turn to him and envelope him in a hug, something I know he needs. He immediately returns the hug, more tightly, as if to keep me and him from falling apart. I smile into his chest, basking in how good this feels. However, I know it must end soon.

"Peeta, you should have told me! I was only ignoring you because I thought you didn't know what it felt like," I mutter into his body.

"What what felt like, Katniss?"

"Losing someone. Someone you love and can't imagine life without." I brace myself for what I am about to say. "That's how I feel about you. I'm sorry, Peeta," I apologize for lashing out.

"No, no. Don't be sorry. You couldn't have known. And by the way, Katniss, I feel like that about you, too." As he says this, a smile spreads across his face. "Will you just please do one thing for me?"

"Depends," I say, already thinking I know where this is going.

"Call Dr. Aurelius. He can help. He helped me, just give him a try and trust me." I knew it. I knew he would bring this up. I'm tempted to spring up and run again, but the new knowledge of what happened to him forces me to give it some thought. After thinking, I decide I have nothing to lose except Peeta, my mom, and Haymitch, and calling Dr. Aurelius won't take them away.

"Okay, I'll do it. But only once. If it doesn't work, or if he makes me mad, I'm not doing it again," I finally respond, pulling away and staring into his brilliant blue eyes. I see relief that I agreed at last. He stands up and helps me up, too. The spark I feel between the mere touch of hand-on-hand reminds me of how much I miss him. However, I don't keep the contact for long. He lets go of my hand as soon as I'm steady on my feet. We walk to the Victor's Village in silence. When we walk away from each other, heading to our separate houses, I dig into my pocket for the weed I placed in there, basking in the memory one last time before entering my house.

When I open my door, I see that Greasy Sae has left, leaving my house spotless. I find a glass and fill it with water from the faucet. After I place it on the counter, I stick the dandelion in there. Then, I begin to rummage through the shelves of assorted books and papers I have collected over the years in the living room, tossing anything aside that wasn't Dr. Aurelius' phone number to the ground. One book stops me. It is the book of herbs, berries, and game my father once created. An idea begins to form when I gently place the reference book aside and continue my search. I finally find the small slip of paper that holds the key to my healing. I walk to the phone that the Capitol has had to replace more than once and punch in the number written on the paper. Two rings later, a voice answers the call.

"Hello?" says the doctor.

"Dr. Aurelius?"

"Katniss! What a nice surprise! Why are you calling?"

"Peeta made me," I reply. I tell him about Gale and Peeta's family. Obviously, Peeta has already told him about this, but Dr. Aurelius wants to know how I'm dealing with it. I then tell him my idea. My memory book of sorts. He thinks it is a wonderful idea, and he will send us the supplies we need for it. By we, I mean me and Peeta. Dr. Aurelius suggests that I tell Peeta and we can work on it together. I agree, missing the days before the Quell when we had our opportunity to spend time alone. I never took advantage of it, too worried about my mixed up feelings, and now, we are both scarred far worse than before. We both hang up the phone and I rush out the door to Peeta's house.

I walk up the couple steps to the front door of his house. I knock loudly, but no one answers. I allow myself entry into the nearly identical house to find Peeta. When I don't smell bread or cookies, I decide to head upstairs. The only door open is the one at the end of the hall and to the left. My feet carry me to the open door. When I see what is in there, I gasp.

A beautiful, sparkling lake is reflecting the sunset above it. It takes me a moment to realize that the scene is just a giant painting, it's so realistic. Peeta is standing in front of it, blending orange and white in a palette to get his favorite color. When I notice my mouth is wide open, I quickly close it. "Wow, it's beautiful, Peeta," I say dreamily.

Peeta whips around to face me, alarmed that I am here. When he sees the expression on my face, he relaxes. "Painting sunsets just eases my tension. I'm not the best at them," he blows off the compliment, like always. "What are you doing here?"

"I called Dr. Aurelius, and I need your help with something," I answer. "When the supplies come in a couple days, just promise me you'll help me."

"Yes, of course I will. What is it?"

"A memory book." When I see his confused expression, I tell him to follow me. He agrees and follows me out of his house and into mine. I lead the way to the mess of books and papers on the floor and pick up my father's reference book off the couch. I sit down on the couch and pat the seat next to me. When Peeta sits down, I open the book to a page with a picture of the ever-symbolic picture of nightlock, facing the description on the page opposite it. "See? There's a picture and words to describe what the picture can't. Our memory book will have people instead. People who we have lost. It could give them a proper death and help us deal with their leaving. Dr. Aurelius thinks it's a great idea, and he wants us to work together on it. He's sending paper and binding for the book and pencils and drawing supplies for the illustrations." I wait, looking into his eyes, until he answers me with a nod of his head. I hug him tightly, and he warmly returns it, just like earlier today. I'm recovering a lot more quickly this time than when I lost Prim, and I think it has to do with Peeta. However, I decide not to push it further when Peeta declares he has to go home by asking him to stay. Instead, I embrace him quickly and watch him go home.

I reenter the house and sit on the couch. My stomach growls, but I don't know what to eat. I stand up again and walk into the kitchen. A basket lies on the table, but the cheese buns inside are hard as a rock. Peeta's masterpiece, ruined at my hands. Disgusted by the fact that it is so easy for me to ruin what I get from Peeta, like the affection I got before I grew apart from him again, I don't feel like eating anymore. Instead, I go upstairs and get ready for bed.

**~A/N~ Hope you all appreciated the second long chapter in a row! My fingers literally hurt from typing right now! This was your last gift from me, InsaneXBexX24, so I hope you enjoyed! I expect a chapter for Panem's Victors and Death All Around when you get back! Haha, just kidding. So, yeah, read the awesome stories by InsaneXBexX24 and mar9215, and if you do, or did, PM me or tell me in a review so I know this part of the Author's Note every chapter is in vain, please! Bye!**


	20. Chapter 20: Investigation

Getting Past it All

**~A/N~ Been a while since I updated, huh? Sorry, I got a job and now school's starting on Tuesday :P I'll still update while I can, I promise! Twinsie, congratulations on being the first reviewer! Why was it your favorite chapter, because it was one of the funnest to write so far! HGFan1213, I'll keep trying to make some long chapters, because it makes you happy and, I'll admit, it feels kind of good to accomplish an almost 3000 word document haha! Thanks for the encouragement you two! InsaneXBexX24, THANKS FOR THE LONG REVIEW! It was super sweet, and I reviewed all of your new chapters! EBRAJERCECullen130, thanks! 3 On with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned the Hunger Games just as much as you all wish you could meet Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, Alexander Ludwig, Jack Quaid, or whatever movie star you're after. However, I do not, just like my plans to stalk all these movie stars one day with some of my friends will probably be crushed *sigh***

**Chapter 20: Peeta POV**

I get dressed for bed after I finish the stew I picked up from Greasy Sae. After clothing myself in a dark gray baggy T-shirt and black flannel pants, I open my window and lie down in my bed. Thoughts of Katniss and where our relationship is going at this point keep me up for who-knows-how-long, but I don't mind. I find myself lost in many flashbacks of the day, all resulting in me thinking about my success in finally helping out Katniss. I remember the look of grief, compassion, and caring visible in her soft, silver eyes that I never tire of looking at. I remember the sadness, grief, longing, and reminiscing as she gazed at the bright yellow flower as she twirled it by the stem between her delicate yet lethal fingers. I remember the brilliant plan she told me about after she called Dr. Aurelius like I asked her to, I remember the look of amusement in her eyes as I asked about the dandelion, and, finally, I remember that she is starting to embrace not only me, but also the idea of us again, as I noticed by the way she comforted me in the soft meadow where she stooped down to pluck the dandelion and the way she hugged me while she told me about her plan and right before I had to leave. It makes my heart overwhelm itself with happiness just at the mere thought of how Katniss can heal herself and pull herself back together so quickly if she just has a little push to get her started. As I drift off, I also remember the look of pure amazement as she stared wide-eyed at my painting, as if it were a real sunset, with a real reflective lake beneath it. I begin to lose consciousness, fully aware of the grin plastered on my face and features.

…

"_Rue! Peeta! No, come back to me! You, stay away from them, they didn't do anything to you!"_

The sound of screams harshly awakens me, and, as I look in the mirror, I notice the smile on my face is no longer visible, but is instead replaced with a sad look in my eyes. The grief also reaches my mouth, but it looks wrong on my face.

I sit on the edge of my bed as I rush to pull on my socks over my feet and tug on my shoes. Within ten seconds, I am out of my bedroom. I run to Katniss' house, I short walk from my front door, and an even shorter sprint, as I am doing right now. I run up the stairs in a hurried frenzy and walk through the bedroom I know is hers. The door that leads to the room fully furnished with a queen-sized bed and a dresser in addition to the humongous walk-in closet is wide open, and what I hear next confirms my suspicions. _Someone is already here,_ I think, as I hear glass breaking against the wall. Katniss isn't the best at aiming when she's half asleep, I guess. Just as I thought, it is Haymitch I see as I push the door open a little wider and slowly enter the room, scared of startling Katniss. Her aim is getting closer and closer to Haymitch's head, and I would hate to fall victim to being her next victim. Just as Katniss is about to throw the table lamp from the night stand, I speak up.

"Katniss, don't worry," I say soothingly. She turns to glare at me, but the gaze softens as she recognizes me, not at all injured like her nightmare portrayed me. "It was just a dream, Katniss. You'll be okay, I'm still here."

She sets down the beautiful lamp (a Tiffany lamp, I think they call it) back on the mahogany night stand and simply gazes at where the picture frame holding a photo of her and Gale was nested lays shattered on the hardwood floor. Her eyes have watered, and I know what she fears right now is not Haymitch's mental stability, or physical being, for that matter, but the condition of the photo. Haymitch takes this unexpected turn of events as a cue to leave the room and quietly excuses himself. He has never been good with an emotional scenario such as this one, anyways.

Without Haymitch here, she moves from her standing position by the bed, and, instead, she settles into a huddled position, with her arms around her knees, on her oversized bed. I walk to the bedside and monitor her reaction, prepared to step away if needed. My efforts are, however, rewarded with words instead of a scowl full of hatred.

"P-Peeta…" she mutters, not forming a sentence. I wait for her to continue and quietly encourage her to finish, no edge to my voice. When I take a seat next to her on the bed and wrap one arm around her back, she finds the courage to finish her thoughts and put them into a proper sentence. "Peeta, don't ever leave me again, you hear me?" I nod, trying my hardest to reassure her. Sometimes, actions speak louder than words, but in this case, I don't think it's enough. I accompany the gesture with a spoken answer, too.

"Of course not, Katniss. I would never hurt you," I say, trying my hardest to push out the memories of my attacks out of my head. I am not that Peeta anymore. I am a new Peeta, with no flashbacks, and I don't have to worry about hurting her any longer. I am now hugging her tightly. I am slightly surprised that she isn't pushing me away, but then I remember the three hugs we shared just yesterday afternoon, and the amazement vanishes from existence. I focus on getting rid of the fluttering of my heart and the butterflies in my stomach as she burrows her face on my neck and tightens her grip on me. I feel the warmth of her salty tears on my bare neck.

"So you'll stay with me tonight if I ask?" she asks hopefully, muffled by the pressure of her mouth on my skin.

I think of a good way to answer her without it sounding like rejection, knowing I need to make her think rationally about what she is asking me. The words finally come to mind. "Katniss, you know I can't," I respond with a hint of sadness.

"Please, just one night? That wouldn't be so bad," she says, pulling her tear-streaked face away from my neck and looking up at me. She looks very much like the unbroken Katniss I fell in love with than she has in the past couple of weeks, looking almost carefree with her playful grin playing on her lips. "Would it?" she finishes.

"You know I can't say no to a face like that," I surrender, distracted by the old Katniss breaking through. She lies down out of her huddled position, and I am quick to mimic her actions, lying down beside her. She faces away from me, but I am facing her. When she feels my eyes boring into her back, she closes the distance between us, backing up until her back touches my chest. She then rolls over to face me and snuggles into my chest. The closeness does not surprise me after all the embraces we shared yesterday. I happily drape one arm over her side, as if to protect her from any more nightmares hoping to permeate into her unconscious mind. I silently watch her drift off back to sleep, no longer tired after the excitement of the nightmare Katniss had.

"I love you, Peeta," she says suddenly, never opening her eyes. My heart flutters at these words, as it does every time I hear Katniss say this to me.

"I love you, too." With that, her breathing slows, signaling that she is asleep. I lie down wide awake, content to just watch her as she sleeps, finally looking at peace after all the stress she has been through lately.

…

"Peeta, please tell me you slept last night!" Katniss whines as she climbs out of her side of the bed. I stayed up all night, watched the sunrise, and finally shook Katniss awake as it got later.

"Okay, I slept last night," I lie jokingly.

"Don't lie to me!"

"Fine, I didn't sleep a wink. Happy?" I supply her with the truth. Then, I add with a grumble, "Wasn't tired anyway."

"You need to sleep! How do you expect me to sleep soundly when you're not even trying?" she demands, putting her hands on her hips.

"I'll sleep tonight, I promise." Not completely satisfied with my answer, Katniss waits for more. I only go to the door, ignoring her expectant posture, but she blocks my only exit quickly, her reflexes sharpened by her time in both the woods and both the arenas. "What more do you want from me, Katniss? I'm not tired!" I moan.

"Bed. Now," she answers directly, pointing at the too big bed.

"But-" I start before getting cut off.

"But nothing. Get to bed now! You need your sleep just as much as anyone else, do you understand me, Peeta?" she demands angrily.

"Fine," I grumble, not looking for any more arguments from Katniss. She tends to get angry very quickly when she is in a mental state like the one she has been in. I walk over to the bed and lie down. My eyes betray how tired I really feel as they easily flutter closed and glue shut.

**Katniss POV**

I am feeling a little more like myself today, so I decide to take care of myself. I go to my dresser and pick out a forest green T-shirt and tan khaki capris. When I pick up the shirt, I see a corner of white paper underneath and quickly throw clothes on top of it to cover it. I'm not ready to face the letters yet, I decide.

I walk across the hall to my bathroom, and the first thing I notice is the clumps of brown hair all over the floor. Every clump is a different knot that I cut out of my scalp, too easily tired for the difficult task of brushing through my hair. I choose to just pick up the strands and place them in the trash can in the bathroom and close the door. I undress and throw my dirty clothes in the laundry chute that leads to a basket by the washer and dryer in a little room off to the side of the kitchen. I start the water and slowly wait for it to warm up. The showers provided in our Victor's Village houses are not as technologically advanced as the showers in the Capitol, but they are just perfect for me. It feels nice to not have to boil water every time I want hot water and to have access to it at the turn of a knob.

When the water is finally warm enough for my liking, turning it up as hot as my sensitive and dirty skin can handle, I step in. The heat of the water feels good on my bare shoulders and back, and it eases the tense muscles all across my sore body from sleeping on tiled floors behind locked bathroom doors or in huddled positions in the corner of my room or bed. I find my wildflower scented shampoo and massage it into my scalp until it bubbles into a rich lather. After I rinse it out, I treat my hair with conditioner and my skin with body wash, making my bathroom smell like the wilderness with the wild-scented products. I bask in the warmth the water provides until it runs cold. I shut off the water and step out. I find a towel and dry myself off. I am about to start dressing when the door flings wide open, reminding me that I forgot to turn the lock behind me.

"Peeta!" I shout, frozen in shock.

"K-Katniss?" he replies groggily, still rubbing sleep from his eyes. Then he really sees what is in front of him. He freezes, obviously staring at the parts of my body that the towel is too small to cover.

"Peeta, get out!" He breaks out of his trance.

"Katniss! Oh God, Katniss, I'm so sorry!" He runs out and slams the door behind him. I hear the door downstairs open and close a moment later, signifying that he left the house, probably to go to the bathroom in his own house. I look in the mirror to see a short-haired girl with a blush creeping on her face staring back at me.

A few minutes later, as I'm pulling on my capris, I hear the front door open and close again. I try to comb my short, chopped hair as slowly as I can to prolong facing Peeta again. I hang my damp towel on the drying rack as my stomach sends a warning growl my way, reminding me how hungry I am. I haven't eaten more than a pack of saltines here or there for the last sixteen or seventeen days, and I know I need to get some food in me. I've been noticing how skinny I am getting again. I hurry down the stairs and am greeted by Greasy Sae, not Peeta like I expected.

"Katniss! Are you hungry, girl?"

"Starved," I reply. She nods and gets to work on a meal. I sit on the couch in the living room and start to flip through the channels. One program gives me pause, not looking like the typical Capitol "soap operas" or "reality TV shows" that are on every other channel. It is a special on District 12, but it must be new, because it shows the dusty ashes and remains of a certain building. The Mellark Bakery. An investigation has shown the investigators the real reason of the explosion. I sit on the edge of my seat, listening intently to the television set in front of me.

**~A/N~ So here's the deal. School has started today! However, I have a college class and an online class and Creative Writing on top of all the other typical high school classes, plus some extra classes I wanted to take, so updates might not come as often. Please bear with me! I'll try to update once a weekend, but it might not always be possible because I'm in a club too, but I'll try to update on weekdays that I don't have work or homework, like today. Thanks for understanding!**

**Now, your favorite part of the author's note! *sarcasm* InsaneXBexX24 has 4 stories out there and mar9215 has one story. Now, there's another story I absolutely LOVE! It **_**is**_** a Cato/Katniss story, but I think you could really appreciate the writing style of this awesome author! This is the only time I will be suggesting this story since she didn't ask me to suggest it or anything like that, so read it now before you forget! It's called **_**The Missed Shot**_** by kato everdeen. Please try it!**


	21. Chapter 21: Control

Getting Past it All

**~A/N~ InsaneXBexX24, Glad you read The Missed Shot, because it is one of my favorite stories now! I love it so much, I love it as much as Panem's Victors and Death All Around! Hope school went okay for you on Thursday, school for me is BUSY! And I have to do a resume for creative writing :P It's not even creative! Thanks for the long review! EBRAJERCECullen 130 thanks!**

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter, Stephen King owns Cell, and Suzanne Collins owns The Hunger Games. Me? I own Getting Past it All. Yep. I'm cool.**

**Chapter 21: Peeta POV**

Greasy Sae made us bacon and eggs for breakfast. It's good to finally see Katniss eating. She is becoming more and more like herself every day, leading to a very speedy recovery.

Our breakfast is a silent one. Katniss, I know, is pretending that I didn't see her naked, but I can't stop seeing it. It relentlessly sticks in my mind. This isn't the only thing bothering her though, the me seeing her naked thing. When I reentered the house, Katniss quickly flipped the channel, as if trying to hide something from me. I shot her a knowing glance while she innocently sat on the couch, but she gave me no answers in return.

Katniss quickly devours her meal as Greasy Sae scolds her for leaving such a mess in the living room from when she must have been rummaging around for Dr. Aurelius' phone number. Katniss waves off the lecture and instead requests more food. Greasy Sae grunts and stops replacing books on the shelf to start towards the kitchen, but I speak up.

"No, don't worry about it. I'm sure I can handle cooking her some more." Sae sends an appreciative look my way and I nod in return. Katniss follows me into the kitchen, insisting that I teach her how to cook bacon and eggs. I answer her pleas with a nod, remembering that I technically still owe her this for roasting the groosling that night that seems so distant and in the past.

I head to the white refrigerator and grab what we need: bacon, eggs, and butter. I push aside the glass with the dandelion, casting a sideways glance at Katniss as I do so. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you while you show me how to cook," she sighs. I listen to the story as I prepare her food, letting her watch me cook bacon and eggs, letting her learn by vision only so I don't interrupt the story I've been waiting for since yesterday when I saw Katniss bend down to pluck the little flower.

"That day, when we were both eleven years old, you tossed me that bread, right? You remember that day?" she starts.

"Like it was yesterday," I respond, letting the heat of the stove melt the butter in the pan.

"Well, I don't think you even realized what that bread did for me and Prim. That that bread saved both of our lives."

"Nope," I agree, happy that what I did saved Katniss' life and sanity by merely feeding her and her sister for a day.

"I never knew how I would repay you for saving us, but I had thought about thanking you at school more than once. I knew it wouldn't completely repay what you did for me, but it was a good start. Besides, Prim was telling me to 'thank that nice boy with the bread' for weeks before I finally got the courage to do it.

"One day, after school, I was waiting for Prim to come meet me by our tree where we would meet every day after school to walk home together. I saw you standing alone, not by the other merchant kids like you usually were. I wouldn't talk to you when you were with the other boys. They were always so mean to Prim and would only stop teasing her for being from the Seam when I showed up and threatened them. I guess I didn't want you to get teased for talking to me or helping me, so I used that as my excuse to Prim for waiting so long to talk to you.

"When I saw you alone, I started trying to gather up my courage to talk to you, and I almost had it. I was about to walk over to you, but I lifted me head before I took a step. I saw you looking at me. I looked back, but the gaze was held just a little too long. I lost my courage to talk to you. But our eyes seemed to say what words didn't. It felt like my eyes said 'thank you' to you, just like it felt like you were responding with a warm 'you're welcome'.

"Ashamed of being scared to talk to you, I looked down at the ground. Then I saw it. A dandelion at my feet. Now, every time I see a dandelion, it reminds me of what you did for me. An everlasting symbol of my debt owed to you. Even in the first Games, I refused to let myself believe I loved you. I was trying to make myself believe that I was just paying you back for saving me and my sister's lives. Now, I know not only that I did, in fact, love you in the first Games, but also that I could never repay you back. I still feel like I owe you, Peeta."

By the end of the story, I am taking her plate and placing the food on it. "That's silly, Katniss. You don't owe me anything."

"I know that's what you believe, but I have to stick to my own beliefs, too."

"So, why do you have a look of longing in your eyes when you look at the dandelion?" I ask. "Doesn't it just remind you of the days when you were starving?"

The question catches her by surprise, but she quickly regains her composure. "I miss the days when we were unaffected by the Games, I guess."

"I don't," I quickly reply.

"Huh? How can you not?"

"Because, if we were both safe from the Games, I never would have gotten the courage that I needed to talk to you. If we weren't both reaped, I never would have been able to tell you how I feel about you," I answer.

"But…the hijacking, Peeta!"

"I would do it all over again if it meant I got to be with you in the end. A messed up life with you seems better to me than a perfect life without you."

"Me too," she replies with a grin. "I mean, I would do it all over again, too." Something flashes through her eyes. She abruptly stops eating and runs upstairs. I contemplate following her, but decide against it. When she comes back down, I see the light catch on her finger. She's wearing the engagement ring.

"Katniss, I love you," I say as she wraps herself into my protective hold.

"I love you too, Peeta." And with that, she stands on her tip toes and reaches her lips to my cheek. They softly press against that spot and pull away, but I cup Katniss' face with my hands, not letting her pull away. I kiss her full on the lips. She is surprised at first, but soon melts into the kiss, parting her lips and allowing my tongue entry. After a while of letting our tongues dance together, I decide to pull away. Katniss accepts breaking the kiss and sits back down at the dining table to finish her second helping of bacon and eggs. I watch her eat, slower this time and finally starting to relieve her hunger.

When Katniss finishes her food, we walk to the living room. It is no longer a mess of books and scattered papers, and Sae is nowhere to be seen. I grasp Katniss' hand an lead her to the couch. We both sit side-by-side on the couch, our arms brushing. I reach for the remote, but Katniss lets a "No!" escaper her lips, realizing too late that she just gave herself away.

"Katniss, darling, what was that?" I ask with suspicion.

"Nothing. It was nothing, Peeta."

"Uh-huh," I say, not believing her lie. When I reach for the remote again, she cringes and uses her body to separate me and the remote. She grabs it in her hand and holds it behind her back. I glare at her, purposely making her feel uneasy, and she finally confesses under the pressure of an angry Peeta.

"Okay, I saw something on the television today, but I don't think you'll like it," she admits.

"Try me," I dare her.

"Mm-mm," she answers defiantly, shaking her head.

"Katniss, you need to stop protecting me from the bad in this world. I'm pretty sure I can handle it. I've been through the Games twice, just like you, and, after all, I am older than you."

"By a few months," she gently reminds me. I continue to stare at her, willing her to tell me. "Yeah, I guess you're right." She sighs in defeat. "I was watching the television, just flipping through the channels, and I saw your bakery on one of the shows. Well, I guess there was an investigation, and-you remember saying it didn't make sense, right? That you've been using those ovens for years and there was nothing wrong with them?" I nod my head, totally engrossed in the story. "Well, I guess the investigators thought the same exact thing. You were right. The ovens were not defective. The investigators found a…I don't know, the remains of a bomb, I guess? I don't know a lot about that stuff, Capitol weapons, you know?" She pauses, struggling to find the words to finish the story. "I don't know why or who, Peeta, but someone is still watching us. Making sure we're still a piece in their games. Making sure we're at the mercy of the Capitol. It's like they heard our conversation that night on the roof of the Training Center. When you said that you just didn't want to be a piece in their Games."

I nod slowly, digesting all of the new information I just heard. I try to rack my brain, thinking of who could be doing this if Snow is dead. Unless…no, Snow is dead. That much I'm sure of. The way Katniss said it, it sounds like the bomb was Capitol-made, so not anyone from District 12, or any other district, for that matter. Our new president, Commander Paylor? No way. She is on the rebels' side. Katniss' and my side. She wouldn't purposely harm us. I run through a list of every person I know from the Capitol in my mind, but I can't figure it out. While I am silent, deep in thought, Katniss is staring blankly at a wall, assumedly trying to think of who would want to do this to us, like I am. When she turns back to me, I see frustrated tears, welled in the corners of her eyes, but she is successfully pushing them back.

"Anything?" she asks. I dismally shake my head. When I meet her eyes again, I see something new present in them. I open my mouth to question Katniss about this strange look, but she has other plans, it seems. She leaps up off the couch before a single syllable can escape my lips. I decide to follow her this time, and I am rewarded with a show of clothes being strewn across the bedroom floor as she searches the drawers in her dresser for something. Instead of asking about it, I simply lean against the wall, watching a girl throw shirts this way and pants that way. To anyone else, she would look crazy, like she has completely lost her marbles, but to me, I know to leave her alone to her findings. Sure enough, she shortly makes a discovery.

Katniss holds a pile of letters victoriously before running back down the flight of stairs, without a word of explanation to erase my curiosity. when I reach her spot on the floor in the living room, behind the couch, I sit cross-legged beside her. One letter is already opened and read through, lying beside Katniss. She is intently skimming through the next, so I pick up the discarded letter. The envelope beside it tells me it's from Gale. My eyes find the paper in my hands again, and I begin reading.

_Dear Katniss,_

_Just got here, in District 2. As I promised, I am writing to you as soon as I can. I left the hospital yesterday, but I just got situated in my new home today. It's in the headquarters of my new "job."_

_Paylor organized a government group in the Capitol. We are called the Flame Rebels, or FLARE for short. Paylor tells us that she senses a disturbance in the Capitol citizens. Some don't seem to accept Paylor as the new president, that their former president has been executed. Maybe, just maybe, they're still shaken about the rebellion and are recuperating from it, but Paylor fears a threat may rise. She has recruited some people she has worked with in the past and some people that worked on the rebellion. It is our job to get rid of the "threat." So far, nothing has been uncovered by anyone._

_In exchange for working in the group, Paylor has provided us all with housing and we all get fed every day. We have servants to serve us meals. We also get a small sum of money each month. I share a room in the apartment FLARE has occupied as its own with Thom, from District 12, and that trainer from 13 is here, too. York, I think her name is? Other than that, all new faces. Tigris notifies us of suspicious activity undercover in the Capitol, still posing as a normal citizen, but we haven't linked anything yet. I can't tell you what we have found in the reports. Paylor won't let us tell anyone outside of the group of the specifics._

_I'm sorry again that I had to leave, especially on such short notice, Katniss, but it's for the best. If there really is a Snow-supportive group, they'll target you, and my number one priority is yours and Peeta's safety._

_Both of you better keep on the look-out._

_Love,  
Gale_

Something in my mind clicks, and I don't need to read anymore. They're not my letters anyway. They're Katniss' private conversations with Gale. I just read enough to get the information I need. Katniss has read through three more letters, plus the one she was reading while I read the first one, while I read one, leaving her with only five more to skim through. I get lost in thought waiting for her to finish.

An anti-Paylor group does make sense, and of course we'd be the first target. Katniss was the face of rebellion, and hurting me would be the best way to get to her. You don't need to personally know her or us to understand that. So that means that someone planted the bomb in the bakery. Someone in the Capitol planted the bomb in the bakery, actually, from the look of FLARE's findings. The Capitol is still using us as pieces in their games.

My next thought frightens me to my wit's end.

The Capitol is still controlling us.

**~A/N~ Hope you liked it! Not as long as my other chapters lately, I think. It only hit 2493 words without the Author's note. Oh well. It was a pretty good chapter in my opinion. So, how is school going? Doing all your homework? Being nice to your teachers? Anything cool happen? Tell me in a review! I am interested in knowing my readers better!**

**Also, if you read ****Death All Around****, ****Seventh Quarter Quell**** (the prequel to Panem's Victors), ****Panem's Victors**** (the sequel to Seventh Quarter Quell), or ****My Golden Rod****, all by InsaneXBexX24, or ****Payback at Last: the Last Hunger Game**** by mar9215, tell me in a review or PM! You'll get an extra-super-special shout out if you do! So just do it! What's the harm?**

**Adios!**

**Brianna**


	22. Chapter 22: Preparations

Getting Past it All

**~A/N~ Guest, I will do your "super special review" at the ending author's note, deal? InsaneXBexX24, omg, my mom is the same way! I saw the Hunger Games pencils, pens, notebooks, folders, and whatever else there was at Wal-Mart and my mom called me crazy. Glad school's going well…My school is giving me hours of homework for weekends, leaving little time for updating :P. As for Katniss' hair, it wasn't exactly that she was mad at it, just too lazy and exhausted to do anything else with it. Nice puns, by the way haha! Mar9215, thanks for the review and thanks for the awesome story I'm trying to redirect people to! EBRAJERCECullen 130 and degrassigirl 12, thanks! And to all my lovely readers, reviewers, favoriters, and followers, thank you for putting up with the totally infrequent updates! I feel so bad for prolonging so much, but I have TONS of homework. I hope the longer chapters make up for the wait! Sorry again!**

**Disclaimer: I am proud to own this story, but come on; don't all of us authors wish we could have written the Hunger Games? Or some of my other new obsessions: The Host, The Water Wars, Matched, and The Maze Runner? Sadly, I don't own the rights to a single one of these.**

**Chapter 22: Katniss POV**

"So, when are we getting married?"

Peeta's eyes bug out, and he nearly spits out his hot chocolate in surprise. I allow a chuckle to escape my lips at his reaction.

"Come again?" he asks in disbelief after finally regaining his composure. I guess he can't believe I'd think of that during this whole mess of things.

"I said, 'When are we getting married?'" I repeat with a smile.

"Uh, whenever you want, I guess," he says, still in shock. I love how I can cause him to be at a loss for words like this. It's just too fun to see. "Are you sure you're ready for a commitment like this, Katniss?"

I nod. "It's not like it'll be any different than what we already act like. It just makes it more…" I trail off, thinking of a good way to explain it. "It just makes it more official, I guess. I should be fine, anyways. What matters to me is that _you_ are ready," I respond, pointing at him for extra emphasis. I finish the hot chocolate in my mug with one last gulp and grab another green frosted sugar cookie. I moan as I take a bite of the sweet, soft dough and creamy frosting. Peeta laughs before answering my previous question.

"Then I guess I should get Effie on the phone, huh?" he says happily.

"Just remember, nothing too big," I gently remind him.

"Darling, we are talking about Effie Trinket, completely notorious for going over-the-top on parties and special occasions. I don't think me saying that would help a thing."

"Just try, please?"

"All right, but there's no telling what she's going to plan for us."

"Yeah, you're right," I reply with mild discontent. The feeling doesn't last long as I remember the sweet treat in my hand, and I gobble the rest of the cookie. Peeta smiles at me and walks to the phone in my kitchen.

Greasy Sae stopped visiting yesterday. Since the day I received the supplies by train, almost two weeks ago already now, Peeta and I quickly recovered and grew back together over our project, the memory book. And that's not the only thing that's growing back. The other thing that's growing back is my hair, much to Peeta's liking. He told me so last night as I dozed off in his arms on the bed.

The supplies for the memory book came two days after I read Gale's letters. We do one person a day, starting with the easier deaths: Cato, Clove, Marvel, Glimmer, Foxface, the people that neither me nor Peeta have a problem with being dead, per se. We work our way down the tribute list for the 74th Games right now, and we're on the District 6 female tonight. Twelve days since we started growing back together. I fear the days that we have to bring District 11 back to life on paper.

Peeta was ecstatic when he saw the art supplies he got from Dr. Aurelius. Acrylic paint of ever color; a palette; paintbrushes, ranging from tiny detail brushes to large, bushy ones; oil pastels; chalk; and colored pencils. The paper we got is a heavy-grade paper, designed not to curl when painted on. However, Peeta prefers the colored pencils for our project and brought the paints, painting supplies, and pastels and chalk to his art room in his Victor House. He says he does better with the colored pencils and insisted on doing his best work for the project we are doing. The last thing we got from the wise doctor was a black binding for the papers. Obviously Capitol-made, it is a black leathery material on one side, but on the other is a piece of paper protecting the adhesive substance underneath. We pulled the protective paper off already and stuck it to the pile of papers, creating a rather hefty book.

I quickly scrawl out a description of each person, each day when we work on the memory book, and then I turn to watch Peeta. He has a real gift for bringing the fallen tributes back to life, even the ones I only saw for brief glimpses and moments before the Games, or, in some cases, just flashed across the sky, never burning an image into my head. My breath quickened at the sight of a very realistic depiction of Cato, the one who nearly killed my Peeta before I even admitted to myself that I loved him. Peeta noticed all of this and quickly came to my side and folded me in his arms. I relished in the feeling for several minutes before I let Peeta continue his work, me glued to his side the whole rest of the evening. Cato was by far the hardest so far, but I know much worse has yet to come.

I have read every one of Gale's letters now. I have read them every day I got one in my mailbox since the day I read them all, two weeks ago today. Not much else was mentioned about FLARE; in fact, the rest of the letters contained only other little tidbits, like his new address that I can send a letter to if I want, his phone number (Yes, he has a phone in his apartment! I'll have to remember to thank Paylor for that.), and what his new apartment is like. He also said one thing that led me to asking Peeta when our marriage was going to be held. Gale said he found a way he could come to see our marriage. I don't know what his plan is, seeing as how he won't elaborate any farther, no matter how many times I call him and ask, but I have finally decided I am going to just have to trust that Gale is telling me the truth.

He doesn't send letters anymore. Only twice a week do I get anything in my mailbox now, except for the occasional letter from Johanna or Annie. Last time I got anything from either of them was actually only six days ago, when we were on the District 3 female. The letter was from Annie, and inside was a picture of her baby, Finnick Gill Odair Jr. He looks so much like the father he never got to know, carrying the same striking sea green eyes and tanned skin, that it's almost unbearable to look at him. He just celebrated his third month alive the other day, in fact. His birthday is on February 4th.

I hear noisy steps reenter the dining room before strong limbs wrap tightly around me from behind. I turn around and find myself staring into piercing blue eyes that can only belong to one person. "How'd it go?" I ask after his soft lips peck my forehead.

"The way Effie talks, you'd think it were the end of the freaking world," he answers with a little laugh. "She says she is coming to District 12 right away and stay until we get back from our 'honeymoon,' whatever that is. She's going to decorate the whole thing and even help you pick out a dress and me a tuxedo. The only thing she mentioned us doing is making the guest list." I nod, taking in every word. I inwardly sigh at Effie's way overwhelming enthusiasm, but agree with Peeta anyway.

"Tonight, after the memory book, then, we will make the guest list."

**Peeta POV**

I nod in agreement before I go back to the kitchen to make lunch. I hear Katniss leave the dining room, probably to the living room to wait out the meal preparation. It is May 8th today, Katniss' birthday, and I don't even think she remembers. That means her surprise will be even more expected.

The lunch isn't anything out of the ordinary; it's just composed of some chicken and wild rice soup and a dinner roll. It is a very unsuspecting meal, but that is all for the better. It will just be that much more of a surprise to her tonight.

I grab two bowls from the cupboard and scoop some of the rice and broth into them with a ladle. I pour the leftovers into a large bowl, cover it with 'tin foil,' another Capitol product, I guess, and place it in the fridge so it doesn't spoil or get bad. The bread basket that has permanently made its way onto our dining table has already been filled to the brim with dinner rolls, cheese buns, onion rolls, you name it, but, as always, it seems that Katniss ate too much of it prematurely, and I refill it with some extra buns and rolls I keep packaged in the pantry. I carefully make my way to the table from the counter by the stove with the two hot and full bowls and gently place them in our spots.

"Katniss!" I call. "Soup's done!"

The door swings open, and a puffy, red-eyed Katniss enters the room with her head hung low in what could only be shame, disappointment, or grief or depression. I quickly rule out the first two options when she looks up at me, giving me a sad smile. "Thanks," she softly mutters before turning to the table and taking her seat. I haven't seen her like this since the day we worked on Cato's page, when she remembered seeing me an inch away from death in a fatal headlock. I had comforted her then; I am determined to do it now, especially on her birthday, even if she doesn't remember it's her 18th birthday.

"Katniss, sweetie, what's wrong?" I question, preferring to cut to the chase instead of beating around the bush.

"Nothing. It was just nothing, Peeta," she says quietly but clearly.

"Katniss-"

"I said it was nothing, Peeta!" She storms up the stairs and slams a door shut, leaving me in shock.

After the effects of the initial shock wore off, I picked up Katniss' untouched bowl of scalding hot soup and slowly made my way upstairs, careful not to drip a single drop. When I get up the stairs, I see that she has chosen one of the spare bedrooms to hide away instead, the one at the end of the hall. I delicately balance the food in one hand and try the doorknob with the other. It turns.

I see Katniss under the blankets of the full-sized guest bed in the fully-furnished guest room. I quietly open the door all the way and make my way to the nightstand. Once the soup is gently placed beside the bed, I leave the room to retrieve the spoon and a roll. However, when I get back with them, the doorknob no longer easily turns. Katniss has locked it. I mentally sigh and lean against the wall beside the door. I slide down until my body hits the floor, waiting for Katniss to come out. The silver spoon and golden dinner roll slide out of my fingertips as I start to nod off, and eventually, I doze off, until a noise startles me. I look up to my left and see Katniss walking to the bathroom. I stay put and wait for her to come back out. A few minutes later, she does, and makes it obvious that my silence in my presence has startled her.

"Peeta! What are you doing here?" she exclaims.

"What time is it?" I ask, sleepily and ignoring her question.

"Like 6:30," she replies, looking over my head at the wall with a clock on it. "Why?"

I curse under my breath and rush down the stairs. When Katniss starts following me, I know I have to get the "surprise" ready somewhere else; my house seems to be the best, if not only, option, so that's where I run. I hear Katniss' heavy steps pounding and hammering the ground behind me, following close, as she gains on me. I start to run faster than I ever did before. I barely make it to my door before Katniss tackles me to the ground.

"What the hell, Peeta?" she spits angrily in my face. I wriggle and writhe, struggling under her tight grip. She has both my wrists above my head in a death grip as I lay down on the ground, where I got pushed after Katniss' ambush. "Oh, no, no, you're not getting off that easy," she taunts, an evil smirk spreading across her face. This just makes me struggle harder, causing her to sit on my chest, keeping me in place. "Explain, Bread Boy." Ouch.

"But, Katniss," I whine.

"Nope. No bu-" I cut her off mid-sentence with a long, deep kiss. I feel her resist at first; then she surrenders into my mouth, weaseling her tongue in between my lips. I roll us over without her noticing and deepen the kiss. When I feel she is distracted enough, I quickly pull away, leap to my feet, and hurry back to my door, pushing my way through and securing it with the deadbolt. I pause by my living room window and look outside, only to see Katniss sitting up on the ground in a daze. I feel a pang of guilt for tricking her, and I want to go outside and say that I'm sorry, that it won't happen again, but I immediately push that thought aside, remembering that it's all for a greater cause. I draw all the curtains shut so Katniss can't see what I'm doing in here. I then run upstairs and make sure my window is closed and locked so Katniss can't climb the tree and let herself in through my room. When I'm sure my house is Katniss-proof, I get to work. After all, I have a lot to do!

**~A/N~ Sorry it's a short chapter! OMG I am so FREAKING tired right now, it's not even funny. **

**Special Reviewers:**

** Guest: Thank you so much for helping out my great friend mar9215 by reading her story, it was her first, so any help would be greatly appreciated!**

** InsaneXBexX24: I know you didn't say you went and read Payback at Last, but I'm not stupid, I saw that you reviewed it. Therefore, no matter how modest you are, you are getting specially and personally thanked by yours truly, Brianna. Thank you!**

**Story Suggestions:**

** InsaneXBexX24: ****My Golden Rod****, ****Seventh Quarter Quell****, ****Panem's Victors****, ****Death All Around**

** Mar9215: ****Payback at Last: The Last Hunger Game**

** Kato Everdeen: ****The Missed Shot**


	23. Chapter 23: Delicate

Getting Past it All

**~A/N~ degrassigirl12 thanks! InsaneXBexX24, glad that you liked the chapter…thanks for updating so much lately! I know it must be hard to do! As for little Finn, he will show up more soon! I also cry when Rue dies every time I watch the movie, and my brother calls me crazy. He just doesn't understand. If you can come up with anymore awesome puns, you deserve an award. I ran fresh out and now I only have Peeta and bread puns. Andrea, that is so sweet! I really appreciate the support and encouragement! Also, I'm really sorry, but I normally update like once a weekend. In the summer, it was a few times a week, but school is hard to keep up with as it is, so weekends are the time to update for me. Sorry! EBRAJERCECullen 130, thanks and you'll see soon enough ;). Mar9215, thanks, I bet you do haha!**

**Disclaimer: Well, I don't own the Hunger Games, and I'm really starting to wish this stupid disclaimer wouldn't shove it in my face every time I make a new chapter :/.**

**Chapter 23: Katniss POV**

"Nope. No buts," I try to say, but Peeta cuts me off with the taste of his tantalizing lips. All my thoughts swarm to the back of my head, no matter how hard I try to resist the kiss. My efforts are wasted as Peeta applies slightly more pressure to my plump lips, and I passionately melt into his lips, releasing my possessive grip on his wrists. I snake my tongue into Peeta's mouth and let him envelop me completely in his big, strong, protective arms. We roll over so that Peeta towers over me instead, but instead of resisting the change of our position, I only push my face closer to his, increasing the friction between us. No matter how close we get, however, it never feels like enough. I am in a complete state of euphoria, pure bliss, but this moment ends far too soon for my liking.

Peeta quickly unwraps his arms from around me and jumps up from the ground, away from me, leaving me in a daze. After the initial shock wears off, however, a new feeling overpowers me. It's hurt. He kissed me just to trick me, and the unbearable pain of the hurt washes over me.

Maybe he's just angry that I was being irrational before. I should have told him what was bothering me before in my house at lunch, but I was too stubborn to. Now, I would love to be able to talk to Peeta, tell him why I was crying, not ashamed at all of show my weakness in the form of salty droplets of water, but I didn't before and now it's too late. Peeta would understand why seeing a picture of little Finn would make me cry. He just looks too much like the older Finnick, the one that he never got to meet, the one that I miss so much and that Annie now has to live without. Yes, Peeta would understand. This new train of thought pulls me to my feet, searching for a way to talk to Peeta about it. I could apologize, and all would be better. I run to Peeta's front door, filled with hope as dangerous as a Career pack.

My hope shows its dangerous side as it gets smashed to smithereens. I try the door knob, only to find it locked. I knock on the door, hesitantly, but get no reply from behind the walls of this house. I try knocking louder, pounding on the door, thinking maybe Peeta hadn't heard me before, but my efforts are rewarded with nothing but agonizing silence. I slam my fist against the solid door one last time, not as an attempt to make myself heard, but to release some of the built up frustration inside of me, and try to think of another way in. I creep to all the first floor windows, but they are all locked and covered with curtains. I am about to give up, but one last ray of hope stops me. It's a long shot, but it's my only remaining option.

I run to my new destination, the beautiful budding cherry blossom tree situated conveniently between my house and Peeta's, and start climbing. Peeta's bedroom window is right next to one of the higher up branches, about twenty feet off the ground, so that is where I am headed. I have to jump up to catch onto the lowest branch, but I miss by mere inches. On my next try, I barely grip the limb before my fingers slip off and I fall back down, hard on my feet. Frustrated, I try one last time. My anger fuels the power I put into my jump when I push myself off the ground for the last time. I finally get a good hold on the tree's newly budded branch, but as I hoist myself up, my head spins. I guess I still feel a little dizzy and wobbly from making out with Peeta, but I ignore the annoying spinning in my head and progress towards the high branches.

I quickly lose myself in this activity, an activity I never grew tired of doing. I have loved climbing trees since the day my dad started teaching me how to do it. My position, one that wuld bring severe discomfort to a normal human being, feels natural to me, and I pause for a moment to drink in the scents of the blooming blossoms. Without even realizing it, I weasel my way out of my pretzel-like formand rest on a larger branch, after testing my weight on it, that is. The branch froms perfectly into my back, caressing me in the memories I have of the old days, before the Games changed me and my life forever. I tilt my head back, letting my past wash over me. I remember the day I started letting my dad teach me how to swim. I remember the day he showed me the memory book. I also remember the day I started climbing. It was not only one of the first things my dad taught me how to do, but also my favorite thing he taught me how to do. I giggle to myself when I remember what I asked my father that day. "Daddy, why do you love Mommy?" I had inquired curiously. Dad simply chuckled at my words and replied, "Because she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and known." Even at a young age, I understood the difference between the merchant community and the Seam community. I knew my mom had been a merchant's daughter ─her hair and eyes explained that without words being said ─but Dad had dark hair and grey eyes, the true markings of poverty in District 12. I understood why Dad might have loved Mom, but I didn't know why Mom loved Dad back. I couldn't fully grasp why she was so willing to leave behind her life of richness and easiness to live a life stricken with poverty and grief. But before I could start a new question, Dad asked me if I wanted to climb like he and the cute squirrels did. Of course, I couldn't refuse, and I let the curiosity die within me like glowing embers fading after a fire.

When I snap out of my memories, I realize the sun is beginning to set and the sky is growing dark. I know I should start climbing back down the tree, but I suddenly feel too exhausted to scale my way back down. Instead, I let my eyes close as I bask in my old memories of my father. A mockingjay tune, a primrose and katniss bouquet of flowers, a homemade kid-sized bow and arrows, a full game bag; the memories flicker behind closed eyes like I'm watching a television program titled "Katniss' Memories." I don't know how long it is until a noise interrupts me. Confused, my eyelids fling open and I look around me for the source of the noise. I find nothing. I sit up and prop myself on my elbows. When I hear the noise again, I realize it's coming from below me. It's a voice, the same voice I've been waiting to hear.

"Katniss, c'mon! I want to show you something!" Peeta calls out desperately. "I know you're up there!"

I can't let my previous anger get the best of me when I see the stunning hopeful eyes I fell in love with in the Games. I practically slide down the tree in my hurry to meet the protective arms waiting for me. I can't reach the ground fast enough, so I leap off of one of the lower branches. Not low enough. Instead of sticking the landing on my feet, I lose my balance and slam my knees down to the ground hard. I don't think I'm hurt, but this doesn't stop Peeta from running over to make sure I'm okay.

"Peeta, I'm fine, really," I promise when he sits me down in his lap while he sits on the hard ground. He ignores my attempt at reassurance and peels my sweatpants legs back on both my legs. I am surprised to see a dark liquid pouring out from both my knees because I don't feel any pain. Peeta kisses my forehead and scoops me up in his arms. He carries me through his yard and into his house so he can wash me up. When he pushes his door open, a scent fills my nostrils.

I've only smelled this wonderful smell on rare occasions before, only in the bakery and the mouthwatering smell of it at Finnick's and Annie's wedding, but I remember that it is the smell of cake. "Peeta, why does it sm-" I start, but he silences my lips with his. When he pulls his face away, I sigh and let my question wait until later. Peeta's right; there are much more important things to do right now.

Peeta carries me all the way up the stairs and to his bathroom before gently setting me down on his toilet. In the light, the blood is no longer a dark maroon, but a scarlet red. My left knee looks like it's stopping, but my right knee is still gushing the red liquid, showing no signs of stopping. As the adrenaline from climbing wears off, it starts throbbing more and more.

Peeta finds a washcloth in the linen closet attached to his bathroom and runs it under the flowing water in the sink. He starts with my left leg, rinsing the rad off with every dab on my bloody skin. When the blood is gone, he unfolds the damp cloth and lays it on the scrape on my left knee. Peeta turn to the medicine cabinet above the sink and finds a first aid kit. When he retrieves the roll of gauze, medicine tape, and anti-biotic ointment, he prepares the leg wrap: a section of gauze cut into a square, dabbed with a bit of the ointment, and finally adorned with tape on the edges. He gently removes the wet washcloth and quickly puts the prepared bandage in its place. When Peeta is sure that the tape is firmly adhered to my skin, he starts wiping off my other knee. The first time the rag touches my raw skin, a gasp escapes my lips and I flinch away from the contact of the wetness of the cloth. However, Peeta whispers a short apology and continues, much more gently this time. My right leg endures a similar treatment as the left leg, only this time, it's as soft as a butterfly's touch, so as to ensure no pain is inflicted on the wound. The right leg is much worse off than the left, and when the blood is wiped off, new pools of it quickly replace the old. Peeta winces at the sight of the shining raw skin, oozing a little bit of pus now, a tell-tale sign of infection. I feel an acidic taste in my throat, but I force the bile down before it can travel any farther up my esophagus. I avert my eyes from the sick and disgusting sight of my knee until I feel the stickiness of the tape on my skin. I dare myself to look down, but I immediately wish I hadn't. the gauze just placed onto my leg seconds ago is already starting to bleed red and yellow liquid, blood and pus respectively. My pleading eyes meet Peeta's apologetic blue orbs, and he wraps a few extra layers of the gauze roll around the original square for good measures; then he helps me up to my feet and unrolls my pants legs back down. I try walking, but every step sends a searing pain to my right knee, resulting in a large, deep limp. A few steps out of the room, Peeta has taken pity on me and I am resting in his arms instead of struggling to limp down the stairs.

"Peeta, I'm so sorry," I say when I am laid down on Peeta's black leather couch. I hope he understands what I'm sorry for. Peeta kneels down on the floor in front of the couch and takes my hand into his. He starts playing with the delicate engagement ring, twisting it ar5ound and around as the pearl catches the light from the kitchen every so often. The silence drags on. Occasionally, a soft kiss is planted onto my hand.

"Katniss, there is nothing to be sorry for. I think it's time anyway," he finally replies.

"Time for what?" I ask curiously.

"You'll see soon enough, little flower." He gets up and bends over to kiss my forehead, my nose, and, finally, a lingering kiss is placed on my lips. He walks to the kitchen without another word of explanation. I look around me for something to do, but there's no need. Not even a minute after he left, Peeta comes back, holding a beautiful cake on a large platter. As it is placed on a stool, in front of the couch, I get a good look at the intricate, detailed work on top. The cake is circular and completely covered on the top and sides with a white similar to that of the pearl set into my ring. The round edge has an icing design on it, and a brighter, crisper white is the color chosen for the three petals on each of the eighteen katniss flowers. In the middle of each flower, a purple candle serves its purpose as the purple stamen. Green lines join all the flowers together, forming a simple message relayed, also in green icing, in the center of it all: "Happy 18th Birthday, Katniss!"

A tear forms in the corner of my eye, but I welcome tears this time. Now, it means happiness instead of grief, appreciation instead of hatred, warmth instead of coldness. Peeta remembered my birthday when I didn't. He made this cake for me when I was being a complete bitchy snob. Peeta smiles at me warmly, then nods at something behind the couch, gesturing for me to look. I turn myself around, with some much needed help from Peeta, and I see the crowd of people behind me. Gale, Annie, Finnick Jr., Johanna, my mom, Haymitch, Effie, and a girl I don't recognize are all smiling at me. The unnamed female looks to be around my age, maybe older, and is wrapped in Gale's arms. My eyes go wide in surprise, and I know some of my friends see this because they snicker. "Wha-what are you all doing here?" I manage to stutter out.

"Next Sunday is a busy, busy day!" Effie nearly shouts in her shrill Capitol voice. I hear Peeta laugh next to me, but when I give him a questioning glance, he doesn't betray his silence to give me some answers. I am about the ask Effie what she means when I see my old prep team emerge from the back of the group. Octavia, Flavius, and Venia are holding an opaque black bag up above their head, although it still drags along the ground as the carry it to the front of the group. I can only guess what it is, and I look at Peeta for confirmation.

He nods his head yes.

I am getting married.

**~A/N~ There, I'm all done with that chapter! I need to help my brother with some homework and I have senior pics to do tonight, so I'll hurry with the author's note. So read mar9215's story and read InsaneXBexX24's stories. Just do it, what's the harm done if you do? Review please? Thanks!**


	24. Chapter 24: Delicacy

Getting Past it All

**~A/N~ InsaneXBexX24, I know what you mean. It was a rather disgusting scene when she fell out of the tree. That pun you used, one of my favorites so far! Finnick is my all-time favorite character! Glad you liked it and happy to know that you're supporting my new story too! Guest, I know, it was rather cute ;). EBRAJERCECullen 130, glad to hear that!**

**Disclaimer: I only own two Hunger Games ****fan-fictions****…not ****books****! Now, can I get on with the story?**

**Chapter 24: Peeta POV**

The group left to find places to stay so me and Peeta could work on our memory book in private. Right now, I am writing down all I can about her. The girl from District 6. She wasn't very significant, only dying in the initial bloodbath, but she still deserves the proper remembrance that every other tribute is getting. She was fifteen, she and her district partner dressed up as moons for the tribute parade, and, finally, she was killed in the bloodbath by none other than the notorious Glimmer. I look over at Peeta's perfect rendition of what she looked like at training, holding her bow and arrow proudly although she wasn't the strongest tribute in the Games. Her blonde golden hair is in cute pigtails, and every detail is drawn in and colored completely perfectly. When Peeta finishes coloring it all, he feels me looking at him and turns around to face me.

"Are you done with the writing?" he asks. I nod and hand it over self-consciously. I fear that he will laugh at me for not getting as much information as Peeta can.

"I can never remember the details that you can, Peeta." Of course, he waves off the compliment like it's nothing, like he always does. "I'm serious, Peeta!"

"Okay, fine! Let's just do the guest list, then," he tries to change the subject. I only let him succeed in doing so because right now is definitely not the time to start an argument as petty as that one would be. After all he's done for me not only in the past, but today alone, I couldn't fathom being angry at him for long, anyway. Instead of fighting against his change of subject, I nod and grab the girly white and blue journal that Effie has so "graciously given" us. The Capitol has everything; apparently, they even have little "Wedding Planners," like the title of the journal reads. I flip to a page labeled "Guest List," in a fancy, frilly lettering, of course, and discover, as I flip through the pages, that there are several pages dedicated to such a list. Ten pages, I count. Well, I'm sure we won't need much more than a page. We start with the obvious.

"Effie, Haymitch, Gale, Adrianna," I start, reading aloud the names as I write them down. Adrianna, or Addie, for short, is Gale's new girlfriend. She is originally from District 8, but she moved to District 2 to join FLARE. She told us when I met her that since she was a seamstress in District 8, she helped tailor the clothing that was provided for all members of FLARE. She sounds like a lot of help to FLARE, and I am extremely happy for Gale, not a trace of jealousy or envy erupting within me.

"Annie, Finnick Jr., Mrs. Everdeen, Johanna," Peeta continues.

"Octavia, Venia, Flavius."

"Beetee, my new prep team."

"Is that all, then?" I ask, finishing scrawling out the names.

"Yes, I think so. No, maybe we should invite Caesar Flickerman."

I sigh obnoxiously to show how much I hate that idea, but I know he's right. Besides, Caesar isn't an awful guy, just sometimes awfully annoying. I add him to the list before adding a few more of my own, Hazelle Hawthorne, Rory Hawthorne, Vick Hawthorne, and Posy Hawthorne. "There, not too big and not too small," I conclude, handing Peeta the feminine book for him to look over.

"Looks good to me," he states after looking at the page in front of him for a few minutes. "Now it just has to pass the real test."

"Effie," I answer. Peeta gets up to find Effie in Haymitch's house, where she said she is staying while she resides in District 12, book still in hand. I grab his arm quickly in protest from my permanent spot on the couch. "Don't. Don't leave. We'll talk to her in the morning." Peeta shrugs and returns to where I lay, placing the journal on the living room table.

"You hungry?" he asks me, looking into my eyes. I nod my head in response. Peeta lifts me bridal style, earning a surprised little yelp from me, and carries me to a chair in the kitchen. We have not yet eaten supper, and, despite the revolting, unearthly sight of my disgusting, gushing knee, my stomach is protesting against the lack of food I have provided it with.

Peeta places a filled plate in front of me, and my mouth immediately begins to water. In front of me is a wonderful section of steak, mushrooms and onions on top, and a soft dinner roll, still warm from the oven. I get a cup of tea, infused with honey, and a glass of water to go with the overwhelming meal. I have obviously never had steak before, it being a delicacy even in the Capitol. How he got it, I have not a single clue, but I am far too busy consuming the delectable cuts of tender beef to say much more than a gracious thanks.

When I finish the large filet of steak, all of the mushrooms and onions included, and the dinner roll, I am finally able to divert my attention anywhere else but the plate in front of me. Instead, I look across the table from me, sipping my water slowly, where Peeta sits. I notice that there is no plate in front of him, just a glass of water that is almost gone. I set my water down and start working on another roll I grabbed from the bread basket on the kitchen table.

"Peeta?" I try asking, but it's completely incomprehensible due to the pieces of bread that fill my mouth. I swallow, embarrassed by my actions, reminding me very much of the way I acted on the train ride to the first arena when I was purposely trying to disgust Effie. When I start up again, Peeta is able to understand what I say and stops me before I can continue the argument.

"Katniss, don't worry about it. I only had the money for one steak, okay?" I open my mouth to protest, shaking my head defiantly, but Peeta shushes me with his soft lips, just momentarily. When he pulls away, I still find myself unable to speak, so I protest in silence by pushing whatever I have left in front of me closer to Peeta. Sadly, all I have left to offer is my cup of tea and a half of a glass of water. It's only enough to receive just a glare from Peeta before he pushes the drinks back to me. Seeing that this will go absolutely nowhere, I sigh and stand up from my chair, ignoring my heavy limp, leaving the tea and water where Peeta pushed them, and go into the kitchen. I close the door between the kitchen and dining room behind me and start rummaging through the fridge. I am pulling the vanilla ice cream out of the freezer when I hear the door open.

"Katniss, honey, what are you doing?" Peeta asks politely as he wraps his arms around me cautiously, careful not to touch my sore knees in the process.

"I'm making sure I'm not the only one who gets decently and properly fed tonight," I respond matter-of-factly. Peeta glances down at the bucket of ice cream in my hands, then back at my eyes as he unwraps his arms from my stomach and stands in front of me.

"What are you planning on making with that" he inquires, eying up the bucket of ice cream in my hands again suspiciously. I shrug and turn my attention to some of the cabinets above the counter until I find the stack of bowls I was looking for. I pull one out and set it on the counter before going back to the fridge for some chocolate syrup. When I open the door on the refrigerator, however, Peeta quickly closes it and spins me around to face him. "Stop doing what you're doing, please?" he pleads. I try to turn away toward the fridge again, but Peeta holds both my wrists together. Normally, I would be able to escape the not-so-tight grasp, but I've been through a lot today ─ the little accident with the tree, the big surprise Peeta gave me, me acting like a total bitch earlier today, me coming across that picture of little baby Finn, and me bringing up the plans for the marriage for the first time since Gale moved and Peeta's family died. Like I said, it has been a long day. It honestly doesn't even feel like it was just this morning when I was casually sitting at the kitchen table, snickering at Peeta when I caught him off guard with the question of our wedding plans. Despite the short rest I got in the beautiful cherry blossom tree, I am really exhausted, no thanks to having to get my obliterated knees patched up afterwards. Speaking of which, my knees are really starting to throb right now, and my limp is most definitely showing, much to Peeta's dislike, who has an expression filled with concern etched onto his handsome face. Of course, only I could get into an accident like that on my birthday. Only me. I shake my head and return to the present. Right, Peeta wants me to stop making him a fudge sundae. I notice that he is looking at me expectantly.

"Did you say something?" I ask over-exaggeratingly sweetly and innocently. Peeta groans obnoxiously and rolls his eyes. "I'm sorry, Peeta! Just tell me what you said!"

"Okay, fine," Peeta says with a smile on his face. Apparently, he's just faking annoyance. Then, his facial expression turns more serious. "I said you need to stop doing this." I give him a raised eyebrow in response. "Getting me food, I mean. Just stop. I'll eat something, okay?"

"Peeta, you can stop treating me like the freaking president of Panem anytime now. I think you've done plenty to remind me it's my birthday. Just let me do this one thing for you."

Peeta sighs loudly, but finally agrees. "Okay. One thing and that is _it_. Do you hear me, Katniss Everdeen?" he asks. I nod. "Good. You really do need to rest up after that nasty fall you took." I shudder, remembering the sight of my infected bloody knees, and reluctantly nod my head again. I then turn to the fridge for the final time, this time uninterrupted, and grab the chocolate syrup. The spoon and ice cream scooper are found in the silverware drawer, and soon, I am handing Peeta his "beautiful masterpiece." He takes it from me and carries it into the living room. I take a few shaky steps on my painfully wobbly, searing knees, but I soon can't stand the pain any longer. I find myself crumpled, yet content, sitting on the kitchen floor until Peeta comes looking for me a minute later. He almost laughs at the sight of a completely helpless Katniss staring up at him from the ground, but he catches himself right after it starts, causing nothing more than a slight hiccup of laughter bubbling from his throat. I, however, cannot contain my laughter as it erupts from my stomach. Honestly, I don't even know why I am laughing. I blame it on the lack of sleep, exhaustion from my super long and busy day.

Three minutes later, hysterical laughter is still escaping my lips in elongated fits and strained, tortured breaths, and Peeta has long given up on hushing me. Instead, he carries me over his shoulder, securely so that I don't wriggle from his grasp in my giggle fit, up to his bedroom, where he lies me down in his bed. Exhaustion starts to win over the hysteria as the snickers and guffaws die down and the exhaustion hits me like a ton of bricks. Eventually, about ten minutes later, the laughing has completely stopped wracking my body, ridding it of all traces of energy that may have been there before. Peeta tucks me in goodnight and kisses me on the forehead before leaving the room.

"Where…you…Peeta…going?" I ask, not making the slightest bit of sense. I almost think he doesn't hear me, but he pokes his head back into the door frame again. He has a grin on his face that makes it look like he's trying his hardest to suppress laughter. He probably is, actually. Oh, well. I don't care. Right now, I just want to know where he thinks he is going.

"I'm going to show Effie the guest list," he answers. I start to pout before he reassures me that he'll be back before I even realize he's gone.

"Fine," I reply, permitting Peeta to leave.

"Good night, Katniss," he says, departing.

"Good night, Peeta," I copy.

"I love you."

"Love you more."

"We'll see about that," he says, and, with that, he leaves me in the darkness of the room.

**~A/N~ there how'd you all like it? Whew I'm tired…It's after midnight : P. So, without further ado, read Seventh Quarter Quell and Panem's Victors and Death All Around and My Golden Rod and stuff. Also, I have a new story! Degrassigirl12 sent me in this idea, and I thought "hey, this would be an awesome stepping stone to the SYOT story I wanna do soon!" So I'm doing it. I think it's turning out pretty good at least **** So I'm planning on updating this story every other weekend and the other story, 127****th**** Hunger Games, on the opposite weekends. How does that sound? Okay, I think it's officially time for me to hit the hay…Good Night Everybody!**


	25. Chapter 25: Haymitch

Getting Past It All

**~A/N~ Hi again! InsaneXBexX24, yes you are right. It was a typo haha. You're extra-special. Know why? You guessed right! You were my only reviewer! Thanks! It's okay, I'm not gonna get in a bad mood or anything about it. I'm writing cuz I want to, not cuz I want people telling me how 'awesome' I am. Anyway, thanks, and don't worry about the puns. They're hard to come up with after a while! And I think I'm going to have a lot of fun writing about Addie, the girl from 8, because, in case you haven't noticed, I love District 8. And 7, 12, 4, and 2. Okay on with the story!**

**Chapter 25: Peeta POV**

I knock on Haymitch's door, where Effie told me she would be staying. The door quickly swung open, and I was surprised to see I was greeted by Effie instead of Haymitch. Curious, I asked her where Haymitch was. When she stayed silent, I craned my neck to look past her and I saw him gasping for breath on the couch. Oh, I only know that feeling far too well. It's what happens to me after me and Katniss make out. I just didn't expect Haymitch and Effie (of all people!) to do that. Surprised, I stumble back a few steps, trying to process it. When I regain my composure, I notice Effie is looking at me extremely angrily, and Haymitch has walked up and placed a comforting arm around her waist. I violently shake my head, thinking maybe I'm seeing things, maybe it's just a nightmare, but my wide eyes see the same scene, and I don't wake up in bed, either. I try to make my expression relax a little, and the shock eventually wears off. Now, I look into Haymitch's eyes, to Effie's eyes, and back to Haymitch's eyes, searching for an answer. I can't read Effie's expression, except for the apparent annoyance, but Haymitch wears an obvious mask of amusement, even struggling to hold back snickers at times. I finally manage to find my voice.

"Wha-what are... you two . . . umm . . . doing, exactly?" I stutter, not being able to hide the shock in my words. Now, Haymitch can't hold it in any longer. He has to remove his hand from Effie's waist when he doubles over, laughing. Effie shoots an angry sideways glance at Haymitch and storms off inside the house. I patiently wait for Haymitch to calm down, and I eventually have to sit on the ground, waiting. I swear to God, he's worse than Katniss! I eventually can't take any more of it, and I get up to walk to where Haymitch is lying on the entryway floor. I kick him with a force I meant as playful, but my frustration gets the best of me. The kick comes out a little stronger than I intended, and the laughter soon turns to moans of pain. I sigh and sit on the couch in Haymitch's living room. Then I remember what happened here just ten minutes ago, so I move to an armchair nearby, trying to rid my mind of the disturbing image. Haymitch forces himself up off the ground and sits on the couch. I see Haymitch and Effie joined at the lips again, and I nearly scream in madness. Instead, I desperately shake my head. It works, and I finally find the willpower to talk to Haymitch.

"You know, I need to talk to Effie." Haymitch nods loudly, the only way I know he nodded, but doesn't make a move to retrieve her. I keep my gaze low, refusing to look at him and the couch. "And you kind of sort of scared her off," I continue awkwardly.

"And what is your point?" he asks.

"Can you go get her for me?" All I hear is silence. He's doing this on purpose, I know it. He knows why I'm avoiding eye contact. _Keep looking down_, I tell myself.

"Haymitch, I'm serious." Still nothing. _Don't lift your eyes._

"Haymitch," I warn. "Just do it." _Don't look at him._

"Please," I beg. That's it. He's going to get it later. _Don't look up, don't look up, don't look up! _ I look up, screaming "Haymitch!" at the top of my lungs. The boiling anger is enough to make me forget the locked lips.

"Alright, alright! I'm going," he finally replies, throwing his arms up in surrender with a grin on his face. He disappears up the stairs, probably to a guest room, knowing Effie's properness, and I pace the living room, impatient. After ten minutes of relentless walking in paths back and forth across the living room, they're still not here, Haymitch _or_ Effie. I know what my options are: continue to wait, even though I'm getting sleepy, or take the chance to see what is taking them so _long_. I sit down and put my head between my knees, thinking.

I decide to face my fear and try to find them. I purposely make a lot of noise on my way upstairs, loudly clambering onto each step, "accidentally" bumping into the wall, and stumbling every so often. I probably look drunk, but this gives Haymitch and Effie the time they need to make themselves decent.

Once up all the stairs, I hear someone dramatically sobbing in the room to my left. Immediately I know it's Effie, so I knock thrice and open the door. The image in front of me is much less disturbing than I expected. In fact, it's kind of sweet, if not surprising. Haymitch has Effie wrapped in his arms as she cries into his shirt, staining it. It would be a much less surprising scene if anyone else was in Haymitch's place. It's hard for me to picture Haymitch being sweet, selfless, or romantic in any way possible, but here he is, consoling the annoying, bubbly, cotton candy-headed Capitol freak as if she were a normal human being that he could tolerate. My respect for Haymitch increases at least a little, but a question is gnawing away at my head. Why _is _Effie crying?

Haymitch notices me walk in, and he looks at me over Effie's shoulder. His eyes are sad (SAD! Can you believe it?), and they twinkle with unfallen tears. My mind is swimming in an ocean of surprise and disbelief at this point in the long night. Before I decide to leave them alone for the night, I see something. I may be wrong, I have been before, but I believe I actually see a salty droplet roll from the corner of his eye.

…

I awake the next morning to someone shaking my shoulders. "Katniss, just let me sleep!" I groan.

"Peeta, we need to talk," Haymitch's voice grumbles, jerking me awake. That is definitely _not_ Katniss, and the words aren't very comforting, in my opinion. I feel myself fill with worry for the missing body next to me in bed.

"What's wrong? Where's Katniss?" I ask a series of questions, waiting for no answers.

"Peeta, settle down!" Haymitch barks at me. "Katniss is fine." I immediately relax, the worry that surely infected my eyes moments ago evaporating.

"What's wrong, then?" I ask. A vision flashes in front of my eyes when I blink. Effie crying; a tender embrace; a lonely, salty tear sliding down the sober drunk's face. I will soon know the answers to my unspoken questions, I hope.

"I know you saw a lot of . . . well, umm . . . things, last night," Haymitch starts. Yeah, let's just call these sudden acts of love, sympathy, and affection from Haymitch, of all people, 'things' now. "And you probably have a million and a half questions right now." No, duh, Haymitch. God, get on with it already! "Ask away." My jaw drops. He _wants_ me to ask? I thought I was going to have to force it out of him.

"Umm," I say, not knowing where to start. The question that seems the most important pops into my mouth. "What's wrong with Effie?" I see by the look on his face that this isn't the first question he was expecting.

"Can we save that one for later?" he suggests.

"Sure, then how long has this . . . relationship . . . been going on?"

"Well, umm, since you were in the hospital," he admits.

"Why?" is my next question. I then realize how offensive it sounds. I clear my throat before continuing. "Why do you like her, Haymitch?" He chuckles at this.

"I don't like her, Peeta. I _love _her," he explains. I roll my eyes at this, although I know what he means.

"Fine. Why do you _love_ her, then?" I ask, putting extra emphasis on the 'love' part.

"You know, I don't really kn-" Haymitch starts, but he is cut off by the door opening, and I see Katniss on the other side.

"I'm taking a shower, Peeta," she says. Then she looks up and sees our visitor. "Hello, Haymitch," she says politely. He gives her a small wave, and she leaves again after giving me a questioning glance. I mouth, _I'll explain later_, and she leaves, satisfied.

"Okay, I don't have any more questions," I say when I hear the water running. "Except for one."

"Why Effie is upset?" I nod, and Haymitch sighs loudly. "Well, umm, you see . . ." he starts, but nothing comes out after that.

"Well, what?" I gently prompt.

"She's pregnant!" he blurts out. I catch a glimpse in a mirror and see that my eyebrows have receded into my hairline and my mouth is wide open. I collect myself when Haymitch moves toward the door.

"Haymitch, wait!" He ignores me, of course, and continues out the house. I collapse onto my bed after I hear the front door slam shut. I lay on my back, processing the information, until Katniss enters the room, towel wrapped around her. Instead of ushering me out like she always does, she closes the door and orders me to "shut my eyes tight."

"What was that all about?" she asks, curious. I groan in response. "Please, Peeta?" I imagine her sparkling silver eyes behind my closed eyelids, and I know I can't say no to that image.

"Effie's pregnant," I grumble. The ruffling of clothes and towels I heard before abruptly stops, leaving a heavy choking silence.

"What?" Katniss asks, disbelief lacing her words. "Who's baby?" I shift myself onto my belly, facing the window. I open my eyes with no danger of seeing Katniss imminent anymore I hear a mockingjay sing "The Hanging Tree" faintly, in the distance.

"Haymitch's, I suppose," I answer at last, knowing and anticipating Katniss' next response. "What?" she says again, even more surprised.

"Yeah, she's pregnant . . . before marriage, even. What happened to all the 'Effie decency?'" Katniss shakes her head frantically enough for me to hear it. Probably in much the same way I did repeatedly last night. Oh, if she only knew the horrific image I had to see. Bless her pure, innocent soul.

"But-but-Peeta, she's planning our _wedding!_" Katniss exclaims loudly. The ruffling of fabric and other materials returns. "It's too stressful for a baby, isn't it?"

"I think so, but I don't think either of them really _wants_ the baby, either," I respond. I think then. I change my mind. Of course Effie will want the baby. Of course Effie will keep it. "Never mind," I mutter.

"Why would you say that?"

"Effie was crying."

"You can look now," Katniss tells me. I shrug and turn around and sit cross-legged on the bed. "She was crying?" she continues.

"Yes, Katniss."

"Haymitch can't be a father, you know." I turn to look at Katniss, who is combing her hair.

"Why is that?" I challenge. "He pretty much is a father to me. He kept us both alive through two arenas and a war!"

"I mean to a baby. He drinks too much, he's aggressive, it's just not a pretty picture, Peeta." I think about it and, at first, I decide she's right. Then I come up with a good argument.

"I'm sure he could change. Think about it. How long has it been since he drank? And he's _still_ taking care of us."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she finally agrees.

"So what do you suppose we do about it?" I ask. "I mean, we can't have Effie endangering her baby's life just because we want a wedding!"

"We wait, for now." I already see a plan forming in that beautiful head of hers. "We wait."

**~A/N~ And that's it. Drama! Sorry if some of you people don't like Haymitch/Effie pairings, it's just necessary to include a certain District 8 girl more in the story. So if you're participating in my other story, 127****th**** Hunger Games, first of all, send degrassigirl12 a PM thanking her for the wonderful idea she gave me. Second of all, if that's even a phrase, take the poll on my profile. It's about the trivia questions. So, I think that's it. Review, I guess, and read 127****th**** Hunger Games. It's fun, I promise. Oh, one more thing. I'm gonna start writing shorter chapters. It's hard to write such long chapters in one week with all the homework I get so they'll be **_**slightly**_** shorter. Not a lot. Thanks for readin'!**


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